


A christmas miracle

by Raychu



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 31,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27824344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raychu/pseuds/Raychu
Summary: Christmas AU/ Rin is slowly wilting away, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Some demons are meant to die young, and yet, Yukio refuses to let him pass on. There have to be something or someone out there that can save his brother's life. What he discovers is nothing less than a miracle. Join Yukio as he explores the catacombs, looking for answers. (Daily updates until december 25th)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. December 1st

**December 1st**

It was a chilly evening in December, a thin layer of frost covering the grass outside. It was the middle stage between minus and plus degrees, and you had to make a wild guess whether a scarf was needed or not before leaving the house. Everyone was busy with something, whether it was finishing the last exams or buying Christmas presents, and Yukio was no exception. He had been so busy lately with missions that he rarely ever saw his bed, let alone his brother.

He had been looking into new findings, holy relics to be exact. There had been rumors of something supernatural going on underneath True Cross, a catacomb that no one dared to enter due to it being highly unstable. Due to this, all entrance had been denied, not even the Paladin was allowed to inspect it. Truth be told, as curious as Yukio was, not having to go down there was nothing less than a blessing, as that meant less work. Not that he really cared that much about Christmas, but free time was a rare occurrence that he would gladly embrace when he had the chance.

It wasn't that he truly minded being busy though, it was a relief to be away from his brother for a while and have his focus on something else. Rin would be about done with the exams by the time he came back, and he had friends like Bon to help him study. He really didn't need Yukio anymore, and he wasn't sure whether he felt relieved or disappointed with that fact. He had spent his whole life trying to protect him, so a part of him wanted Rin to be less independent, at least that would give him a purpose in life, a reason to wake up every morning. But perhaps that was selfish. In the end, he was glad that his brother wasn't helpless or in need of constant guidance. Things were looking brighter.

At least that's what he thought as he walked under dimly lit street lamps and winter decorations, the streets of True Cross mostly empty except for a few business owners that were getting their stores ready to close, the last costumers leaving with plastic bags and nicely wrapped presents. He had bought some cup noodles on his way back to the old dorm, knowing that it was too late to make a proper meal. Then again, since it was Saturday, the half-demon that he shared a room with just might be in the mood to make them something, now that it was the first day in December, and Yukio was home after being gone for a couple of weeks.

Once he reached the dormitory, something felt off. He had expected a greeting from Kuro, who usually heard him enter, and yet, there was no Kuro in sight. He brushed it off at first, the cat could be sleeping for once, and to be fair, it was late. The younger brother entered the kitchen, put down the noodles and heated some water. He found himself staring out the window, noticing a few snowflakes falling from the sky. He would go and check on the other once he had finished preparing the food.

With two cups of noodles, one in each hand, he headed upstairs. What he was met with was a rare sight, one he hadn't expected. Their door was ajar, and he could hear the sound of someone speaking. The voice was unfamiliar and sounded professional. One he opened the door fully, he found Shura standing by Rin's bed watching a doctor placing a stethoscope on Rin's chest, instructing him to take deep breaths. Yukio almost dropped the cups when Shura turned her attention towards him, a solemn frown making her look ten times older and sober for once.

"We need to talk."


	2. December 2nd

Yukio had stayed up most of the night, lost in thought as he stared at the ceiling. What Shura told him the night before kept repeating in his head, and he had to fight the urge of getting out of bed to check on his brother. His demon side was trying to take over, and he was forced to hold it back or he could potentially hurt others. He had been taking injections meant to conceal it for about a month, as it was becoming a problem. This caused a lot of stress on his body, mainly his heart, as he steadily had to take a greater dose to keep it under control. This had been completely unknown to Yukio.

"His body can't take it, it's too strong to be sealed without weakening him in the process. There's nothing we can do about it other than keep on giving him the injections and see what'll happen. Unless he regains control, he may not survive the winter."

That had been Shura's exact words after she guided Yukio out of the room, not wishing for Rin to hear it. It wasn't that the older Okumura didn't know that things were going sour, but he had yet to know that he might end up dead in a few weeks.

Despite twisting and turning most of the night, Yukio somehow fell asleep, only to wake up a couple of hours later to his alarm going off. He had a meeting to attend later that day, one that had to do with the catacomb and whether access would be allowed for a few higher-ups.

His alarm had been loud enough to wake his brother as well, the sound of soft moans escaping the opposite bed, followed by barely noticeable movements.

"Don't worry, you don't have to get up, I'll just make something quick, then ask Ukobach to make you something for later. You've been told to rest and not move around too much, you should follow the advice." Yukio answered as he reached for his glasses and sat up in bed. He turned to look at the time; 05:00 am. He had about an hour to get dressed and eat breakfast before leaving for the meeting.

"I'll be leaving soon. Should I call someone to keep you company or are you well enough to make it on your own? I'm not sure when I'll be back." A part of him knew that Rin would be too stubborn to ask for someone to keep an eye on him, but he would feel much lighter knowing that his brother wouldn't be left alone all day, especially after yesterday. He had fainted during practice with Shura, who ended up bringing him back to the dorm before calling the doctor.

At the lack of a response, he sighed. "Then I'll choose for you. I'll try to call your friends since there are no classes until January, I'm sure at least one got the time to visit."

Once fully dressed, he turned to the door "I'll come back before leaving to help with the injection."

The meeting didn't take as long as he had expected. There had been some talking back and forth, discussing the risks and the responsibilities that would follow the expedition. In the end, only five higher-ranked exorcists with different meisters could go there, and only as a group in case something happened while they were down there. A Doctor, a Dragoon, an Aria, a Tamer, and a Knight.

Yukio had not been one of the chosen.

While he tried to stay focused and listen as they talked about safety precautions and whether a second team should be formed, he found himself staring at a young girl who had somehow gotten into the meeting room. She looked young, perhaps around thirteen years old. She was filthy, and her hair was a long, curly mess. He got eye contact with her, as she stole an orange from a bowl placed in the room's corner. So, she was a thief?

Before he had time to approach her, she bailed, her pockets full of fruits. Yukio immediately got up and ran after her, but as soon as he entered the hall, she was gone. Had he been hallucinating? Was this nothing but his imagination? Perhaps it was the lack of sleep.

Only Yukio had seen her, so surely she wasn't real. And yet, she seemed so familiar.


	3. December 3rd

"So, you're telling me you saw a girl yesterday at the meeting? Was she cute?"

"It was a child Rin, so no, I didn't find her cute. Not the way you think, anyway."

"A child? How did she get inside?"

"That's what I'm wondering as well."

The twins stood in the hall of their dorm, busy brushing their teeth as Yukio tried to explain what happened the day before. He hadn't had the chance to explain it yesterday as Rin had been asleep when he came back. Despite the meeting only taking a few hours, he had spent most of the evening trying to find the mysterious girl. It couldn't have been his imagination, and whether she was a spirit or a normal human being, he had no clue. All he knew, was that she didn't belong there.

"Maybe she's a child of one of the teachers?" Rin asked before spitting into the sink. He was a bit better today, and he and the other exwires had agreed on meeting again to study some more. There would be exams soon, and he would have to attend those whether he felt like it or not.

"No, she's not a child of a teacher, she was covered in dirt and her clothes were worn. It looked like she had patched up her pants. It's more likely that she's poor, and none of the teachers have less than minimum wage. That would explain why she was stealing fruit."

Yukio finished up as well before reaching into his pocket to look at his phone. Two new messages.

"Maybe she's homeless?" Rin offered, watching his brother's focus shift as he read whatever message he had received. "What? Is it important? I was hoping we could eat breakfast together for once."

"That would be nice, but I don't have the time. They found a key in the catacomb, meaning that something of value might be hidden down there. I'll have to go and see that for myself." Yukio put his phone back in his pocket and took on his jacket. "I shouldn't be gone for long this time, but don't wait up for me in case it takes longer than expected."

* * *

It was getting colder, and the snow was there to stay. It was only a few millimeters so far, but if it continued, then it wouldn't take long before the city would be covered in a duvet of white. It wasn't even afternoon, yet a good amount of people was already outside buying presents. To his surprise, a lot of children were outside as well. A lonely guy was standing in the middle of the street banging on his guitar while singing Christmas songs, and not far from him stood another fellow, dressed up as a cheap version of Santa, handing out free samples of cookies. As Yukio approached the dressed-up man, the thought of free cookies tempting him, he noticed a child sneaking up on him from behind, a gloved hand reaching into the basket. She looked exactly like the girl he saw yesterday, and upon getting eye contact, she ran off again.

"Hey! Come back!" He yelled before running after her. This time she wouldn't get away, he would be sure of that. What he hadn't expected, was that she would run straight into a stall, cans of soup toppling over which almost made him trip. He stopped up and looked over at the woman now approaching him.

"Nice doing kid, you better clean up the mess you've made."

Yukio was baffled. Was he being blamed for this? That girl was right there! How didn't she see her? Not that he could do much to prove his innocence, so he accepted the blame and started stacking the cans without even trying to explain himself.

"Don't worry, I saw her." A deep voice suddenly sounded behind him. It was the cheap-looking Santa. "Why don't I help you with that, you look like you're busy." With that, he sat down beside him and started stacking cans.

* * *

Yukio somehow ended up helping Lewin when he reached headquarters. The key had been hidden inside a skull, and he now had to hold said skull while the other was preparing a display. He wasn't sure why he couldn't just put it down on a table, but an order was an order. Maybe it was to annoy him? Or perhaps it was too fragile to risk putting it down on a random surface.

"I can't believe we found a skull! Isn't it great? Who knows how long it's been down there, hidden away. I bet we can find the rest of the body as well, just gotta dig a bit." Lewin looked up, smiling like a lunatic. "Too bad you're not allowed to go there, I'm sure you'll find it as interesting as me. There might be secrets down there, perhaps something they've tried to cover up for decades. You know, I found some interesting papers the other day, something about True Cross being built on top of an older city, and something about an ancient relic that was never found. It just might be right under our very feet! Now isn't that just fascinating? Oh, you can hand over the skull now."

Yukio gave Lewin the skull and watched as he carefully placed it on the display.

"Thanks for the help, you can go now. I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this so, keep your mouth shut, alright? You can see it as thanks for helping me out. Really couldn't have done it without you."

"Any idea where the key is? I was told to come here to have a look at it." He was starting to get impatient. He felt like a delivery boy, being sent back and forth between higher-ups as if they didn't have anything for him to do. If that's what this was, then why couldn't they just give him a break?

"What, they didn't tell you? It's been sent off to get analyzed at the science department, and no one's allowed to enter the lab without permission. They may have given you the wrong information… But you know, just because you're not allowed there, doesn't mean you can't break in if need be. You didn't hear this from me. Now go and get me some coffee, I'm parched."

Yukio ended up leaving with more questions than answers.


	4. December 4th

Yukio was tired of being left in the dark. He was a Middle First-Class exorcist, he should be in one of the scouts, exploring the catacombs. If what Lewin said was true, then something otherworldly might have been hidden away down there. Something of importance.

He made a decision that night, he was going down there, with or without a team. If he went there early, perhaps around 4 am, then no one should be there, except for a few guards. He would have to go through the basement to get there, which would bring yet another obstacle: cameras. There was video surveillance all over, making it hard to get there without being caught. He would have to find a way around that, but since he hadn't been there yet, he couldn't make a proper plan before getting there and see it for himself.

He had warned his brother the night before, telling him he was going down to see the catacomb. He had lied and said he had been put on a team, as that would be the only way to avoid Rin going after him. He promised that he would be careful and try not to get hurt.

The basement was cold and clammy, and as Yukio walked through PVC curtains, he was met with the stench of rotten eggs. Pipes ran across the white ceiling, and a few wooden boxes had been stacked against the walls. LED lights illuminated the hallway, giving it an almost orange glow.

As he got further in and rounded a corner, he quickly ducked to avoid being seen. A guard was sitting inside a smell CCTV control room, having a window right by the desk that he could look through in case someone was trying to sneak past. Now he could try and do just so, but someone on guard duty had to be smarter than that. But then again, the order had been stupid enough to hire Kinzo Shima. Out of all people, they decided to put him on guard duty. Still, the man may not be the smartest, but he had great senses. Perhaps he could find another way in.

He decided to turn and walk in the opposite direction, venturing further into the basement in hopes of finding a secret pathway. When he was met by a door, he opened it and headed down the small staircase. Once he got to the bottom and rounded yet another comer, he ended up face to face with no one else than the weird girl he accidentally had been running into the last few days. Startled, he took a step back, staring her quickly up and down. She was holding decorations, pine ornaments and a Christmas wreath around her scarfed neck, one still having a price tag on it. As they stared at each other, she suddenly handed him a few Christmas tree ornaments, then went and threw the rest of the things at him before making a quick U-Turn and sprinting off. Caught by utter surprise, it took him a second to regain his composure, then threw the things on the floor and started running after her once more.

She suddenly stopped running and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the camera to turn off for a second. She knew she didn't have the time for this, but she couldn't risk getting caught by security either. She tapped her feet impatiently, just a few seconds more and she would be able to continue. It was a few seconds too many. The camera didn't turn off in time for her to get away, as Yukio hadn't been far behind her. He grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to turn to look at him.

"Hey, stop running off like that, I just want to talk to you!" Yukio was gasping for air, bending forward as he tried to catch his breath. "What are you doing down here? How did you get in?"

The girl tried to wiggle out of his firm grasp, crying out for him to let go, yet he refused to do so until she answered his question.

"We live here! We're not doing anyone any harm, so please don't force us to leave! It's cold outside, but we're sheltered here, which means we'll be okay during the Winter. Please, sir, don't tell on us…"

"Who are we? Who else lives here?" Yukio's grab softened when he heard someone running in their direction, yet he still held her hard enough to avoid her slipping.

"Please…"

Her eyes were teary, and her cheeks a bright pink as she begged for him to let go, and he did so, not wanting whoever it was to find her and kick her out. Not when he finally found her. But he wasn't going to let her get away either, not again.

"…Thank you for not ratting me out." The girl breathed out as they got away from the guard. "I was sure you were going to hand me over."

Yukio didn't answer, just stood there, leaned against the wall. He wasn't sure why he didn't, perhaps it was all the questions he had that kept him from doing so. The girl smiled and pushed herself off the wall to go and grab a razor scooter. "Come with me, I have something to show you."

Before he got a chance to ask her anything, she took off, forcing him to run behind her once more. Did she ever stand still?

"Come on, it's not that far!"

They rounded a couple of corners, went down a few halls, and soon enough, she stopped by what looked like a big trash shute, only it was much easier to open, like a closet, and the pipe was broad, like a slide. The girl immediately sat herself inside it, looking at Yukio.

"You want to see the catacombs, right? If so, then hurry up. Someone might get here soon."

"Isn't there another way?"

"No, not unless you want to get caught." With that she let go and slid down, Yukio hesitantly following behind. There were a few meters of sliding, and upon reaching the bottom, he fell butt first onto the ground, nothing there to offer a soft landing. Once he got up, she showed Yukio the way inside. There were PVC curtains in front of the entrance as well, the only proof that others had been there before them.

"Why don't you go in first? I'm not fond of darkness, and I haven't dared to enter before." She requested, and he accepted.

It was like a huge ruin, different parts dug up, most likely to get analyzed, but that was only by the entrance. It was easy to see that the place wasn't stable, and it made sense that no one had dared to go further, at least not yet. As he tried to go further, what felt like a minor earthquake hit and a rock fell from the ceiling, hitting Yukio in the forehead. He hurried pack out, holding the now bleeding wound.

"Are you okay?" She asked, trying to get a look at it. "You're bleeding. Come, let's get out and get that cleaned."

He didn't like the thought of giving up for the day, not when he only just found the place. But it wouldn't do much good walking around down there with an open wound either. "Sure, but... how are we getting out?"

"We climb back up." she walked over to the edge of the slide. "There's another way in and out, but it's locked, and even if it wasn't, you would get caught."

The girl didn't know her real name, so her friends simply called her Shōjo, little girl. It turned out that she did indeed live down there with someone else, but she didn't tell him who they were. Not that it really mattered, because they weren't going there, not yet anyway. Instead, once they got back up, she went there by herself and came back a few minutes later with a wet cloth. She helped cleaning it before putting a light blue band-aid over the wound. "There, as good as new!"

Rin hadn't expected Yukio to be back so early. It wasn't even 6 pm yet, but here he was, covered in dust and with a cute little band-aid on his forehead. He couldn't help but tease him about it as he finished up dinner.

"So, did you find the catacomb? Or maybe you just fell into a pile of dust."

"No, I found it, but I didn't get very far… What are you making?"

"Nothing much, just some noodles. I haven't been feeling great today, so I decided to make something easy. There should be enough for both of us." His tail wagged left and right as he swished the noodles on a pan. "Can I come with you next time?"

"No, it's too dangerous, I'll rather you stay at the dorm."

Rin sighed as he put the food in two bowls and handed his brother one of them. "Yukio, be honest, am I going to recover from this?"

"… Don't worry, there's still time."

Yukio didn't get a response, and the dinner went by quietly.


	5. December 5th

Rin was looking outside the window when Yukio woke up, a feverish glaze over his eyes as he just sat there, unmoving, not registering his brothers' movements before he stood right beside him, looking out as well.

"It's snowing again." Yukio stated, and his brother's response was delayed by a few seconds, being nothing but a simple agreement before moving away from the window and back to bed. He was a bit lazier than yesterday, but that didn't worry Yukio as much as he thought it would. If he was up this early, then it might simply be due to sleep deprivation. Yukio knew better than anyone that stress and lack of sleep could make you feverish, so he would save his worries for some other time.

Rin was still feverish by the time they hit afternoon, so Yukio decided to stay at the dorm to keep an eye on him, just in case. It wasn't a high fever, just around 38.4 °C, but for someone never experiencing a fever, it was bad enough.

Yukio had decided to go and make some lunch. If Rin got something to eat, then the fever might drop a bit. He had only been down there for about half an hour, warming some pre-made miso soup, but when he came back, the room was empty. first, he thought that Rin might have gone to the bathroom, but then he noticed that his shoes were gone, and the window was wide open. Did he run off? But where could he possibly run off to? Suddenly he saw the map he had drawn the night before was gone as well, and it clicked: he had run off to see the Catacomb himself.

Knowing that Rin was weakened, going out in the cold, as well as going into a dusty, unstable crypt could potentially worsen his condition. Surely, he wasn't that stupid, was he? Still, if that's where he was going, Yukio had no choice but to follow.

He more or less ran the whole way, hoping he could catch up to him before he got there. But Rin was fast, even when he wasn't feeling his best. Either that or he headed off the very moment Yukio left the room.

He didn't even think twice once he reached the shute and found it opened. He quickly slid down it. Yukio had been lucky to find the right way without the map, and sure enough, he found said map at the bottom of the slide. Rin was in there. If only Yukio had been smart and avoided adding the shute, then Rin may not have found it.

When Yukio tried to turn on his flashlight, it didn't work, and it was too dark to venture in there without one. He had to find the girl first, she had a flashlight the day before, that much he remembered. He had already wasted too much time, yet he didn't have a choice. He hurried to climb back up and ran through the halls of the basement looking for her. It took a few turns, and once he found her, she was with two men, all of them holding Christmas ornaments.

"Shōjo I need your flashlight! My brother's down there, he might be in danger!"

The girl handed it to him without even asking anything, and once Yukio ran off, she ran with him, determined to help. The men yelled for her to come back, but she ignored it.

Once the two were back down by the entrance, they decided to head left. The first part of the catacomb was rather broad, looking like some sort of room meant for gatherings. There were piles of debris laying around, making it hard to see anything further back. It was fascinating, and Yukio would have liked to explore it properly, if only he hadn't been in a rush.

It was the girl who found him lying unconscious in a pile of rocks, legs covered by a large piece of debris. It took both of them to get it off, and by the time they did, Rin was more or less back to the land of the living. Yukio had to carry him out, partly due to the crushed legs, but also due to the weakened state he was in. They somehow managed to get him up through the shute, and once they were back upside, Yukio didn't waste a single moment to try and lecture him, telling him to never, ever do that again. Not only for health reasons but for legal reasons as well. He wasn't allowed to be there, none of them was.

"At least I know who you are now. Yukio told me a lot about you... Thank you for finding me." Rin praised the girl, smiling as he did so.

"You're welcome. See you soon." She gave him her hand, and when she pulled away, a bit of glitter was left in Rin's palm. It had to be from the decorations Yukio saw her hold earlier.

By the time they got back to the dorm, Rin's eyes had developed heavy bags underneath them, and he had grown significantly paler. He didn't have any appetite either as he just sat there, playing with his food. He ended up going to bed right after, which was hours earlier than he usually would. The fever was way higher than it was in the morning. It was 40.5 °C now, a rise of over two degrees. His legs weren't fully healed yet either, and the worry Yukio didn't feel earlier was now making little knots in his stomach. Even Kuro was worried as he lay by his master's side, curled up into a ball and sharing his body heat.

How could Rin have been that stupid? Didn't he know that curiosity killed the cat?


	6. December 6th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed an issue where a chapter was skipped, they are now in proper order. Reviews and kudos are appreciated!

Yukio made his way down the halls of True Cross Academy, eyes flitting about, looking for classroom number 105. He had been sent there to gather some papers for another teacher who was busy grading a few exam assignments. There were no students in sight, which only made it lonelier, the halls unnervingly quiet. The only sign of anyone being anywhere nearby was the sound of someone playing a slow, calming melody on a harmonica somewhere further along the corridor. As he walked further down the hall, the sound gradually got louder. Once he reached the door to the classroom, the sound stopped, and a head peeked out from just around the corner. It was the girl from the basement. Not that Yukio felt surprised at that; it seemed she was everywhere lately. As he unlocked the door, Shōjo stood up and followed him inside.

"I never got to thank you for helping me find my brother yesterday." Yukio said, speaking up as he walked to the teacher's desk and opened a drawer. Shōjo, in the meantime, perched on one of the student's desks.

"Is he okay?" She asked out of concern, slipping the harmonica into her jacket pocket.

"He's not feeling very well today." Yukio answered as he gathered the papers. The girl bit her lower lip upon hearing that and watched as he headed back towards the door. "I'll have to go now, so would you mind leaving the classroom? I have to lock the door behind me."

She followed, and once they were back in the hallway and Yukio had locked the door, she spoke up again. "I found a letter yesterday, down in the catacomb. Hatsuo might know what the hidden secret is. We just have to convince him to tell us."

Yukio rolled his eyes and turned towards her, his tone flat. "Listen, I don't know what you're talking about. And I don't care about that secret."

She frowned and looked at the ground "But I thought you- "

"I barely managed to find my brother down there yesterday, and if it wasn't for you, then he could have been dead now." Or at least much worse than he already was. The girl suddenly seemed determined.

"Alright, I'll just help you again! You just have to be careful when you reach the boiler room- "

"I'm not going to the boiler room! And not the catacomb either! I'm done with that. I'm not a part of the scouts, and nothing good ever happens when I go down there."

"But, maybe- "

"No, forget it." She didn't get a chance to say anything as Yukio shot her words down immediately. That didn't stop her though.

"But the secret might heal your brother!" she yelled out which made him stop walking for a second, only to continue onwards a moment later. She had to be lying, nothing could cure him. He wasn't sick with a virus or anything like that, he was just not strong enough to contain his demon half. He was self-destructing. What kind of cure could keep him from doing so?

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it, even as he handed over the papers to the teacher, watching as the man flicked through them to make sure it was the right ones. Upon confirming it and thanking him for his work, Yukio headed back out, only to find Shōjo in the hall. Had she been following him this whole time?

"Fine, tell me." He resigned "How could the secret cure him?"

"I just think it can. I feel it, like something... spiritual." She answered as she peeled an orange, presumably from one of her pockets. What was up with her and keeping so many things in her pockets?

"But no doctors nor exorcists can do anything. How would this be able to help him?"

She walked closer to him and whispered: "It's an angel." Then turned around and headed off, leaving a careless trail of orange peels behind her.

Shiemi had been called early in the morning to keep her eyes on Rin while Yukio was away. The girl was brushing away a few strands of dark hair from his forehead when Yukio entered the dorm room. Rin hadn't moved at all since Yukio left, except for going to the bathroom once. After that, he had just stayed in bed and not even bothered to eat. Shiemi had brought homemade herbal tea, hoping that would help, but he had only managed to down half a cup despite his usual huge appetite. He was weak, and it was such a foreign sight. It unsettled her.

Yukio slowly entered and sat down on a chair, speaking softly. "How is he? Any improvements?"

"No, he's not showing any signs of getting better… He will have to stay inside and not move around too much. Stress could make it worse." Shiemi stated before turning her attention towards Yukio. "If anything, it's only getting worse, but he's stable."

Yukio had made a decision; he was going to find the girl and get some answers from her. He knew where she lived, so he just had to get past the security camera down by the boiler room, and then it shouldn't be far from there. He waited for it to turn off, just like the girl did, then once it was off, hurried past and in through a hidden door. He made it just in time, as the camera turned back on eight seconds after turning off. That had been close...

He turned on a flashlight once he got inside and walked down a narrow path, the ceiling barely tall enough for him to get through without having to crawl. The quiet sound of water running through pipes made him a bit paranoid as it drowned out any smaller sounds, and he found himself looking back a couple of times before finally reaching another door. He pushed it, and soon found himself greeted with a faint light. He had found the girls hideout.

"Oh, hey. You're the boy from yesterday, aren't you?" One of the men Yukio saw with the girl the day before greeted him. "How did you get here? You didn't tell anyone about us, did you?" He seemed nice yet suspicious, and for good reasons.

He was about to answer when the young girl cut in. "He wouldn't do that, he's a good guy." She was sitting on a table not far from them, smiling and waving. "So, you found your way here, huh? Did you figure out how to get past the camera?"

"I did…" He looked around in awe. They had a weird collection of seemingly random things, like signs and used furniture. Surely, they had been living there for a while. "So, you're really living down here?"

"Yeah, together with Hatsuo and Daishi. The one you just greeted is Hatsuo, he's good at making food. He's very nice and rarely mad. Daishi is a little older, and he tends to be a little mean sometimes. But that's only because he worries a lot."

As she mentioned him, the man in question entered, wearing a long jacket and a half-assed beard. Upon getting eye contact with Yukio, he walked over, scowling. "What do you think you're doing here?" He then turned his eyes towards Shōjo. "Didn't I tell you not to speak to that boy again? Why did you bring him here?"

"She didn't." Yukio was quick to interrupt. "I found it by myself, she didn't bring me here." He reached out a hand to the man "My name is Yukio Okumura. Shōjo helped me save my brother yesterday, and I'm grateful for that."

The man didn't accept the hand offered, but he didn't seem to completely reject Yukio either. "At least tell me what you're doing here."

"He wants to know about the secret." The girl explained, gaining a glare from the bearded man.

"Oh? And what kind of secret are we talking about?"

"The one about the angel, of course. The one who could help his brother."

"Oh great, now you're babbling up about that again."

"But Daishi!" She tried to cut in, but it didn't work.

"I don't like listening to your nonsense." The man turned to look at Yukio "Now, goodbye young man."

Yukio stood up with a sigh "Guess it was a mistake for me to go here."

"You're right, it was." He was more or less pushed out of the door, which wasn't much of a surprise. He couldn't blame them, he would be suspicious as well if he was in their shoes. But still, he needed to know more about that letter…

As he walked back through the path and reached the door, he couldn't help but hear someone walking right outside of it. He carefully opened the door ajar, and immediately saw Kinzo walking around. What was he doing in the boiler room? Yukio's eyes widened when the man bend down and came back up holding a Christmas ornament. Was he on their trail? This was bad… Yukio quickly closed the door and hurried back to the hideout as quickly and quietly as he could. Without saying why, he ran into the room, grabbed a handful of decorations and ran off again, hearing Daishi yelling up about Yukio stealing their things.

As he reached the door again, he carefully opened it and walked a few steps away from it, then confronted the guard. "Kinzo! There you are!"

"Yukio? What are you doing down here?" Kinzo stepped a bit back in surprise. "What are you having there?"

"I just thought you might be feeling a bit blue, walking around down here on your own while everyone else is off enjoying the holidays. So, I brought you some holiday decorations." He bluffed. Luckily, Kinzo didn't seem to notice and he accepted them as truth.

"You're the one who's been sneaking around? I appreciate the thought, but you shouldn't be here."

"You're right, I'll be going now. Merry Christmas to you too." Yukio gave a small bow before heading out. This visit had gained him nothing, but at least the girl was safe for now.

Before he got the chance to leave the basement completely, the girl showed up again near the exit. "Thank you for not telling on us. Daishi wants to thank you by telling you about the letter."

It turned out that the letter had been written by a nun who had been in a love affair. She had been praying every night for a miracle, one that could cure her lover from a grave illness and let them both be together, away from the church. The miracle happened, an angel came to her, but yet something terrible happened. To find the angel you had to… The letter ended there. The next piece was frustratingly missing.

Could an angel help Rin? Or was this truly just nonsense?

The letter had been found in a crosier from down in the catacomb. The girl had apparently gone down there afterwards, despite being scared, but after helping Yukio, she had gotten a bit braver. It was broken though, and the other half had to either be on display or still down there. Yukio would have to ask Lewin about it later.

He hurried out of the basement and practically flew up the stairs to get to the display Lightning oversaw. To no surprise, the man in question sat in the exhibition room, watching Yukio enter with his usual smirk.

"You're in a bit of a hurry, aren't ya?" He chuckled as Yukio headed over towards one of the newer findings. Sure enough, it was the other half of the crosier. "Do you like it? We found it earlier today. We didn't find the other half, sadly."

"May I try and hold it?" Yukio asked as Lightning walked over, stopping to stand beside him.

"Sorry, you can't hold this one. It's too precious and you might break it. But you can look at it as much as ya want."

"You let me hold the skull, so can't you make an exception?"

"That display is highly secured, if you try and open it, an alarm will go of." He explained, folding his arms. "So, no, you can't. But you can hold the skull again if you really want to."

"No thanks, I'm good. I'll have to get back to my brother." Yukio turned on his heels and left, feeling utterly disappointed. What could he do now?


	7. December 7th

Rin was… Surprisingly well today. The fever had dropped back down to 38,5 °C, so he wasn't as disoriented or frail as the day before. He was even eating, and although his huge appetite hadn't returned it still came as a surprise to both Yukio and Shiemi. She had happily agreed to stay in the dorm again today while Yukio was gone to watch over him. Yukio had avoided telling him too much about what happened last night, not wanting to tell him until he had both pieces of the letter. Shiemi didn't know much either, and that was for the best. There was no need to worry her.

He had left early in the morning again today as he had agreed on meeting up with the girl in the basement at around eleven am, after doing a few chores for the order and a little paperwork. Once he got down there, he found her sitting on the stairs beside the scooters, wearing a pearl necklace while playing around with a coin, flicking it up in the air and catching it over and over. She made sure to show off the cheap jewelry as Yukio sat down beside her. If they wanted to get their hands on the second part of the letter they needed, then they had to make a plan. They would have to break into the exhibition room by nightfall, and somehow avoid being caught red-handed. First of all, they would need a keycard to get inside, and that keycard would have to be inside Lewin's office. Once they got the keycard, they would have to use it to get inside. Once in, they would have to figure out how to get to it without triggering an alarm.

Yukio was the one who sneaked into the office. He had gladly forgotten how messy the place was. Even though Bon was helping Lightning with, well, everything really, he hadn't been able to help with the mess. It was absolutely unfixable. This made things a bit more complicated, as the card could be almost anywhere. While he was looking around, Shōjo had been put on guard duty.

After looking around for a while, he finally found the card inside a seemingly random folder on his desk, but as he was about to leave, he heard someone by the door. Without thinking twice, he panicked and hurried over to a locker, then hid inside it. It smelled like used socks and sweat, and for a good reason as he stood on a pile of used clothes. He looked out, squinting through the small keyhole and watching with bated breath as Lewin and Kinzo entered the office.

"Things keep going missing! Someone has to be stealing, most likely someone from inside the organization." Kinzo complained, exasperated as Lewin walked casually over to his desk to look at some papers.

"I don't think so. Who would that be?"

Someone else suddenly entered. It was Arthur, and he was holding a folder in his hand, which he handed over to Lightning. Not an unusual thing to see, but it was still odd to see the professional looking paladin in such a messy place.

"Thank you. Oh hey, nice necklace." Yukio frowned upon hearing that and took a closer look. Sure enough, as far as he could see, Arthur was wearing the necklace Shōjo had been wearing earlier. That would explain why she hadn't knocked on the door to warn him; she had run off before she had the chance.

"You think so? I got it from some strange girl out in the hall. For some reason, I couldn't say no to her."

Arthur had headed off as quickly as he came, and Kinzo turned back to Lewin and continued. "To steal from your workplace is like stealing from your family. Don't you think?"

"Come on, no one here's stealing, no one would sink that low." He replied as he gathered the papers he needed and headed out again with Kinzo in tow. Yukio had avoided being caught, but no thanks to the girl.

It turned out that she had been distracted by a janitor and followed him around as he cleaned the floor. Once he found her, she just smiled, not aware that she almost caused a conflict by not standing guard as she promised. She did give Arthur the pearls to distract him though, so at least she did help a bit. Yukio was mad, but not mad enough to go off at her. He just hoped she could keep her promise once they broke into the exhibition room when he'd need her on guard the most. They agreed on being there by eight pm, and the girl had promised to be there.

She wasn't there. Yukio stood by the closed down entrance, and there he had been for fifteen minutes without a single sign of her anywhere. It wasn't until he noticed movement from the inside that he realized: she was already in there.

He decided to try and use the keycard on the digital lock screen. When a code was needed, he tried putting in a number, yet that didn't work. After three tries, he got blocked.

"Pssst! I can get you in from the inside!" The girl suddenly stood by the security gate which almost gave Yukio a heart attack.

"How did you get in there?!" He whispered back as she pressed a button, making the gate go halfway up. He quickly made his way inside, crouched, before she closed it again.

"I was hiding. That guy wasn't very tidy, he barely looked around before leaving. It was easy." She was proud of herself for being better at making a plan than him.

"Now look. There's a camera on both sides." She pointed at them "We're at a blind spot right now, so they can't see us. They both record for about four seconds then turns off for another four seconds before turning back on. You just got to get from one blind spot to another within four seconds. It's pretty easy. There should be another blind spot near the crosier because I went and fiddled with the camera" She then showed him how to get there without being spotted, and he carefully followed soon after. It ended up being way easier than he'd initially thought.

Once they reached the display, Yukio went into his pocket and pulled out a few lockpicks. He had only ever done this a few times, on missions when it had been absolutely necessary so he hoped it would work. Surprisingly it did, and he managed to remove the glass without triggering an alarm. He then took out a small pack of powder and used it to see whether there were invisible sensors. When red lasers appeared, the girl gasped. "That's so cool! What now? Should we try and take it out?"

Yukio nodded and carefully moved his hands under the red lasers, making sure not to touch them. Once he got to the artifact, he carefully moved it out of the display. His hand was too big to reach into the hole meant for the stick, as the part they just received was the top of the crosier. Shōjo's hand was just about small enough, and soon managed to receive the little piece of curled up, faded paper. Yukio carefully put the artifact back, and just in time as someone opened the gate. It was another guard, this time being a higher-up that Yukio didn't know the name of. They quickly hid behind a taller display, hoping that the cameras hadn't seen them. The guard walked right past them, and to their luck, somehow left without noticing them.

They brought the letter to the two men that the girl lived with, and even though Daishi wasn't happy to see him there and wanted him to leave, he changed his mind when Yukio showed him the letter. The other part of the letter talked about the nun's father, and how he had locked the angel in a dungeon. She would write her lover another letter once she found out where this dungeon was. She would hide the letter by a pillar towards north-east in the Catholic Church that they both knew.

Yet none of them knew what or where that Church could possibly be. Furthermore, Daishi didn't believe that this person had been an angel. It was more likely a man of science or a doctor. They couldn't know exactly how far back this all happened, so it could possibly be as far back as to the 1500 century, if not older. It was amazing the letter was intact at all, really.

Still, Yukio was determined to find out more. The letter might have talked about the Roman Catholic Church, in other words, the Vatican. The Vatican Main office would be located underneath the ground, but maybe they wouldn't have to go that far. If she mentioned the church, then the letter might be inside of St. Peter's Basilica, which was the Church above the Vatican.

Going there would be very risky, and the girl wasn't allowed to go with him at first, but when Yukio asked Daishi whether he wanted to know why the angel had been imprisoned or not, she somehow managed to get his permission to go to Rome with him.


	8. December 8th

Yukio and Shōjo had to wait around most of the day, as St. Peters Basilica would be closed until seven am. As the building was situated in Rome, they both had to wait for the clock to strike three pm to go there. Yukio had decided to stay at the dorm most of the morning, having nothing better to do. Bon would be there at around one pm to keep Rin company, and hopefully, get a few assignments done.

Once the clock hit three, Yukio used the key of Eternity to get to Rome in a matter of minutes. They had decided to wear ordinary clothes to avoid gaining unwanted attention, and since it wasn't freezing there, they had agreed to wear nothing but long-sleeved shirts and long-legged pants.

It was stunningly beautiful inside the Basilica. There were paintings on the walls and the ceiling, decorated with what looked like gold. There was already a fair number of people inside, listening to tour guides, and reading the signs. The girl looked around in awe, looking like a small child who just woke up on Christmas day.

Now, they had to find the same pillar that was mentioned in the letter. It was supposed to be by a North-Eastern pillar near the Saint of a woman, but St. Peters was full of statues of many, many Saints. This could very well become difficult. And even if they managed to find the right one, then where would it be hiding?

Yukio took Shōjo by the arm and pulled her along with him so they wouldn't get separated, heading towards the altar. There they started looking over the statues to north-east. The most particular one was the veil of Veronica. She seemed different compared to the other statues, and as far as Yukio could see, she was the closest thing to what the letter described. It was the story of a woman who got Jesus' face imprinted on her veil after wiping the blood and sweat off his face. The veil was said to be possessed by the grace of God, and it was able to cure blindness as well as raising the dead. It was later used to cure Tiberius Caesar of an unknown illness, or so the story said.

He looked at her face as if trying to gather information from a dead statue. So far, he had no clue on where to find that letter. He couldn't really inspect the statue either when there were people around, but before he could figure out some clever distraction, the sound of a harmonica sounded throughout the church. It was a well-known melody, at least to Yukio. But where had she run off to? Others seemed puzzled as well, as they turned away from the statue and towards the direction the melody seemed to be coming from. He wasted no time getting all close and personal with the statue, even went as far as to go behind it, hoping that there wouldn't be an alarm on it. It would be easy enough to escape, all they had to do, was to use his key. On the other hand, he couldn't travel back to True Cross without Shōjo, and with her being gone…

… Something was loose on the backside of the statue. Like some sort of hatch, yet it didn't open on its own. There was a small seal drawn onto the hatch, a Solomon seal of protection. He remembered it from the last letter they found, as it had been drawn at the bottom. Perhaps if he destroyed that part of the paper, could that possibly work? Would it be worth a try?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper. Now, if he destroyed it and it turned out to be the wrong approach, then they might never manage to open the hatch. There had to be other methods. The seal was used to keep evil spirits away, so maybe if he proved that he wasn't evil?

Yukio used the edge of the paper to cut his finger, then used it to smear blood onto the symbol, then tried out the same approach on the hatch. At first, he thought it didn't work, and he could hear the sound of guards coming his way, but right at the last second, the hatch opened, revealing the letter.

He hurried to grab it, then shoved it into his pocket and closed the hatch, hastily sprinting away from the statue. A few guards had been nearby, but since they hadn't noticed his whereabouts, he somehow managed to avoid getting caught.

The melody had at some point stopped. Yukio wasn't sure when, as he had been focused on the task at hand, but now that he was done and managed to find the letter, he surely noticed the strange silence. He soon saw Shōjo running towards him, a couple of guards right behind her. They made eye contact, and she sends him a mischievous smile. He didn't even want to know where she had been. All that mattered was that they found a door and got back to True Cross before she potentially got captured.

* * *

They managed to get away somehow and back to the basement with their lives intact. The two men weren't there by the time they got there, so Shōjo left him in the hideout to try and find them. While she was gone, Yukio decided to look around some more. There were a few glasses placed neatly on a small table, a little bit of liquid in each one. He sat down and reached for one of them, only to hear a loud yell from behind him.

"Don't touch them! You'll ruin it!" The girl cried out, then quietened down as she sat down beside him.

"Ruin what?" Yukio questioned, and instead of telling, she showed. She licked her finger to wet it, then started gliding it across the edges of the glasses, playing that same melody as always. Once she was done, she smiled.

"That melody... where did you learn it? Did you hear it somewhere?" Yukio asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know where I got it from. I don't remember anything. I've lost my memory. I don't remember anything prior to meeting Daishi and Hatsuo. All I remember is this melody. Somehow, it reminds me of my home. Maybe I lived by a place that played that sound, or maybe it was a song my mother would sing for me when I was little. I don't know."

Before she could say anything else, Daishi called out to them. "Hey, you two! You're back already?"

* * *

When they read through it, the letter mentioned the young nun's father was getting suspicious. He would keep his eyes on her night and day, and she feared that her father might find her letters. Due to this, she would have to write her letters in a secret way that only she and her lover would know. The rest of the letter was blank, except for a few dots of ink splattered around, looking like runes or something like it. It seemed to be a code that they somehow had to crack to continue the investigation.


	9. December 9th

Rin was looking out the window again, and Yukio had no idea for how long he had been there. It wasn't normal for Rin to be awake before him, especially not on days where none of them had a specific time that they had to wake up to. He was glaring at something in the distance, and when Yukio asked him what he was looking at, he simply said "The sunrise."

Yukio had shortly told him about the letters yet avoided telling him where they came from. Not that it really mattered, as Rin didn't ask that much anymore. He seemed accepting, and even the injections had become a routine. He simply didn't speak his mind anymore, and he rarely said anything during conversations. Bon especially noticed this as he stayed in the dorm most of yesterday. Rin wasn't complaining about the homework, but he didn't do that much either. The only things he would complain about were headaches, and when he did, he would go to bed to take a nap, then wake up a couple of hours later to continue the work. He wasn't himself at all.

Daishi, despite staying awake most of the night, hadn't been able to crack the code. He had been taking a few sips of Whiskey Highball, leaving him a bit tipsy when Yukio entered the hideout. The girl without a name and Hatsuo was in the other end, untangling Christmas lights. Shōjo sent him a broad smile and watched as he made his way over to the man with the letter.

"What does it say?" Yukio asked as he sat down beside the man.

"It's utterly impossible to see what's written! They've had to be completely nuts! Unless…" The man suddenly stood up and hurried past Yukio, then came back just seconds later with a handheld mirror. He pointed it at the letter, hoping that the mirrored letter would spell out something. When it turned out not to, he groaned in annoyance and put the mirror away.

"That damn letter, it says nothing! It's just random scribbles!"

Yukio reached for the letter and looked it over himself. "What if I got someone else to look at this? Someone with more experience."

Daishi seemed hesitant, yet gave in. "Alright, but don't just show it off to anybody!"

* * *

Yukio decided to try and show it to Lightning. It would be risky, but he didn't really know anyone else as good at decoding as him. Sure, he didn't exactly trust him that much, but he DID help him earlier, so perhaps he was willing to help him again.

"Lightning?" The man in question had been sitting in his office half asleep when Yukio entered. He jolted awake upon hearing his name. "Sorry for entering without permission, but I have a question. You know a lot about secret writings, don't you?"

"Well, I know some. Why do you ask? Shouldn't you be doing errands?"

"No, there's nothing for me to do lately… Except for one thing." He was about to hand over the letter when Kinzo suddenly entered.

"Alright, I'm ready to look at the recordings." The man stated, ignoring the fact that Yukio stood right beside him.

"Alright, I'll be there soon. Got some paperwork to finish." Lewin answered as he reached for a folder. Kinzo gave a quick nod and headed out again. Yukio turned back to Lightning, trying not to seem nervous.

"What kind of recordings?"

"Video recordings from the exhibition room. Someone's been in there, tampering with one of the cameras. We found a piece of gum on it, and it was turned to face the wall."

"Was there a break-in?" Yukio's palms were getting sweaty, and he had to keep himself from rubbing at his nose, a nervous habit of his.

"Yep. But I'll figure it out. We're going to catch whoever is responsible."

"Right… Well, I have to go, someone just messaged me." Yukio lied as he looked at his phone and hurried out of the office. He had to find the others and tell them about this, perhaps they would know how to delete the video.

* * *

Yukio and Hatsuo had joined forces and stood near the CCTV room while Shōjo stood by a fire alarm a few floors up. They would get inside once the alarm started, hoping that Kinzo would react to it as well and run off. Surely enough, he did so, leaving the door open.

Yukio and Hatsuo hurried inside, and Yukio sat down by the computer, looking up the file with the date of their break-in. As the file started erasing, Hatsuo pointed to one of the other screens. Kinzo was already on his way back. It appeared that they quickly figured out that it was a false alarm. Lewin was right behind him, meaning that both of them were heading their way. Yukio pressed the last couple of buttons, then both hurried out and down the opposite hall. Now all they could do was to hope that every trace had been deleted.

* * *

Daishi had given up on trying to crack the code. It wasn't numbers, it wasn't mirrored, the only thing left, was it being invisible ink. He took a good sip of water and put the glass back down by the corner of the table. He sighed and rubbed at his face.

They didn't get a chance to test whether it was invisible ink or not, as the girl accidentally knocked over the glass, succeeding in soaking the letter. Yukio grabbed the paper in a panic and hurried to put it on a heater. Hopefully, it would still be intact once it dried.

Shōjo stared at the puddle she had made, guilt written all over her face. "Now we'll never find the angel, and Rin will never get better…" She mumbled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

* * *

Yukio invited her to come and visit the dorm, trying to distract her from what happened. There she managed to get a shower, leaving her sparkling clean. Little moles appeared once all the dirt had been wiped off her face, and for some reason, that made her seem even more familiar. He didn't know many who had moles on their face except for himself. She got to borrow one of Rin's shirts, which, to no surprise, was a little too big for her. Not that she minded, it was cozy.

Rin had been making dinner while she showered, and by the time she came out, it was ready to be served. Her hair was still a mess, but the curls were almost impossible to untangle.

Rin had been the first to point out that she looked like Yukio if he had been born a girl. He was at least alert enough to notice what was going on around him.

* * *

Once they came back to the basement, Yukio being the one following Shōjo home, the hidden letters had been revealed. It turned out that the letters had indeed been written with invisible ink- one sensitive to heat. By trying to dry the paper, Daishi had made the rest of the message appear. The unnamed lover had been the son of a priest but born outside of marriage. This could explain why the nun's father was against them being together. Not only was a nun not supposed to have an affair, but to be in love with a bastard child didn't make things better. It was the nun's father who captured the angel and sent it to the dungeon. But with the angel locked away, no one could heal the boy. The father wore the key to the dungeon around his neck, as he went to visit his foster brother at the Vatican. The nun would go there to get the key and leave it in the ancient cemetery underneath the basilica. She would hide it near the first pope, St. Peter. She didn't write where exactly, so there was a chance that it was hidden in a way similar to the letter itself.

No matter what, this meant that they would have to go Rome again. But perhaps this time they could get their hands on invisible cloaks to make things easier. For that, Yukio would have to persuade Mephisto.


	10. December 10th

Yukio managed to talk Mephisto into letting him borrow two pairs of camouflage cloaks, in exchange for a favor he didn't want to think about. All he had to do to get them, was to promise him that he would use them to piss off Arthur. There was no doubt that it would affect the Paladin negatively once he found out that they were trying to save Rin's life. The man wanted him dead, so going as far as to possibly steal from the Vatican Church would surely make his blood boil. He wondered if he would survive an encounter with him.

They reached the Church at around nine in the morning, invisible to human as well as demon eyes. The pair walked through the entrance to the underground cemetery and quietly walked through what was more or less an endless labyrinth of tombs. They eventually found their way over to a shallower hallway, sculptures standing by the walls, before reaching a more open, less claustrophobic space. From there, they found their way to the confessional. They had been smart enough to get their hands on a map, also from Mephisto, making it much easier to find their way around.

It looked well-kept and tidy in there, and the floor was polished marble. Not like that came as a surprise, seeing how they were inside one of the holiest places on earth. They were at the very centre of the Basilica, right underneath Michelangelo's dome. There was the iconic reverse cross, which was a typical sign for St. Peter, as he was said to have been crucified upside down. The reverse cross was the symbol of Antichrist as well, which made Yukio ponder for a little while before they continued onward. They went down yet another hallway, the young girl holding onto the hood to make sure she wasn't visible. They were getting closer to the Clementine Chapel, which was the heart of the old Basilica. It was where Peter was said to have been crucified. They went to the cemetery further underground through a passageway that they found to be near the Clementine Chapel. The brick walls were ancient and looked a lot like the catacomb underneath True Cross. There was a hole in one of the walls. Inside that hole was a good amount of bones, said to be the remains of St. Peter himself. If this was true, then they had managed to find the sacred tomb.

Now they just had to figure out whether the key was hidden inside that hole, buried underneath the old bones. They would have to be lucky if that was the case, as something that precious would most likely have been found earlier. And yet it was worth a try. With a heavy sigh, Yukio reached into the hole and started feeling around while Shōjo stood guard. They were both nervous, fearing that someone would come by and notice that the bones had been moved.

It took him a while, and for a moment he thought he would come back empty-handed, yet he found something in there that didn't feel right. He grabbed hold of it and withdrew his hand, coming back out with what very well looked like a bone, and yet it was much lighter. He could feel a ridge in the middle, quickly figuring out that it was two pieces put together. He pulled at it, and sure enough, it opened. It was a hollow fake bone with a piece of paper inside. When he unrolled it, it turned out to be blank, most likely due to invisible ink. They would have to get back to True Cross to uncover the hidden letters, but before that, they had to get back out. He put the scroll of paper in his pocket, then headed back through the way they came.

Yukio handed the letter to Daishi once they were safely back in the basement. He watched as the man oh so carefully wetted the letter, then used a cheap blow dryer to get the letters to appear. Once they did, they started reading it.

The young nun had tried to get her hands on the key while her father was asleep but failed. Her father noticed her and was furious, swearing to everything holy that he would take the key with him to his grave. Without the key, no one would be able to get to the angel. She had ended the letter by praying for a new miracle.

This left a whole lot of questions, one being where this man's grave could have been located. they were very familiar with the layout of Saint Peter's, could that then possibly be where he had been buried? Or perhaps they knew the Vatican, which would explain why clues had been hidden underneath True Cross. Could this priest of a father have been an exorcist? If so, then where would such a man be buried?


	11. December 11th

Arthur wasn't fond of being questioned about things, especially not by a child of a demon. All Yukio wanted to know, was whether they had a burial exclusively meant for exorcists, yet Arthur made it seem like it was painful to talk about it, so it wasn't easy to get an answer. In the end, he admitted that they did indeed have such a place, but it was only for family and friends of the deceased to enter. Now that he knew it existed, he had to figure out how to get there. He would have to figure out whether a key was needed, or if there would be some hidden entrance somewhere.

He had decided to try and go to the library. If this place really existed, then maybe it would be written in one of the books. It would be worth a try at least, and if nothing showed up, then he would have to risk it and ask Lightning.

He came and left the library empty-handed. None of the books mentioned a burial site for Exorcists. It was as if it was a secret, for what reason Yukio had no idea. He had been looking through one book after the other, hours quickly passing by and yet he found nothing. How come no one had written about this? He would just have to risk it and ask the one person who seemed to know everything. If Arthur knew, then Lewin would know as well.

He was asleep in his chair when Yukio entered his office. He had to yell rather loudly for him to wake up, and when he did, he almost fell out of his chair. That didn't keep him from smiling like an idiot though.

"Yukio! Good to see you! Where have you been lately? Did you give up on entering the catacomb? No wait, you never intended to do that. You got another question to ask me?"

It was as if the man was reading his mind. Either that or he only ever came by when he had something he wanted to know.

"I was told there's a burial site for Exorcists, how do you enter?"

Lighting lightly stroked the stubble on his chin, looking perplexed. "Why would you need to know that? You're not planning to break in there, are you?"

"No, I'm just curious. I'll like to know if I have any relatives buried in there. Any priests?"

"You're asking too much. You'll end up dead and buried yourself if you keep this up. Now, one thing is for sure, there's not a secret entrance on the top floor, sixth door to your left. That would be too obvious, am I right?"

He was right but hiding things in plain sight often proved to be the best strategy. Yukio was glad to be given a lead, but why was Lewin so willing to help him?

* * *

Yukio went to the basement to find the girl and tell her about the secret entrance, only to find her and Hatsuo bent over a Christmas tree. They were trying to cut it shorter, but apparently, it took some time due to the saw being blunt and barely functional.

It turned out that Hatsuo had been in jail some years ago from stealing and trespassing. It seemed to be him who taught the girl how to break into stores and how to avoid being caught on cameras. Yukio wasn't sure whether that was a good thing, but since that was what they needed to find the angel, he would have to look at it from a brighter point of view. It was an asset in the current situation.

Hatsuo knew how to make a copy of the key, so once they found it, they wouldn't have to steal it. For that, they would need some clay, plaster, and tin.

They managed to get everything they needed from a storage room, but as they made their way towards the basement to hand the things over, Kinzo came running towards them and immediately grabbed the girl by the arm.

"You! I know you! You're the little thief who's been running around! This time I've got you, so you better-ow!" before he got the chance to pull her with him, she reached into her pocket and took out a needle which she used to stab him in the arm, making him let go in surprise. She quickly turned and started running, Kinzo following right behind. Yukio decided to run after them, but once he rounded the first corner, the girl was gone, leaving the man standing there in confusion.

Yukio decided to avoid having to answer any possible questions and quietly turned to head off in the opposite direction. He would have to go to the hangout with the objects later, perhaps sometime in the night when he knew things had calmed down. If he was caught down there looking for her, he would definitely get in trouble.


	12. December 12th

It was a little past midnight when Yukio came back to the basement. Luckily, no one was asleep and more than ready to prepare the walls of the mold. Once it was ready, it was put in a backpack.

Yukio and the girl put on the camouflage cloaks, and without further ado, headed up towards the highest floor to find the entrance. They would have to look around for more than just a grave, as the key might have been found a long time ago. For this reason, Yukio had been quick to grab a small butane torch from their kitchen, one meant to be used for finer cooking or desserts.

As they walked down the hall, they made sure to stay hidden, not wanting anyone to potentially see them sneak around. Not that there were that many people in the first place. There were however two standing guard by the door. They both looked very bored, and one of them kept looking around. They might be easy to distract, but before that, they would have to try and grab the keys hanging from one of the men's belt. They had to be careful and stealthy and ended up agreeing that the girl should do it before they got too close. Once positioned right beside the guard, Shōjo reached for the keys and slowly yet steadily received them. They should now have the key to enter the burial site.

Shōjo reached into her pocket and threw what seemed to be a tennis ball down the corridor. The noise made both guards tense up and turn to look towards the sound. One decided to go and investigate, while the other stayed put. Yukio would rather not have to do this, but since he had no choice, he decided to use the power of pressure points. He tiptoed up behind him and pressed his finger into a facial artery by the jaw, making the guy faint. He quietly went for the other guard as he came back holding the ball, and soon enough, both were down for the count.

Wasting no time, Yukio hurried over to the door, and after trying the third key, managed to open the door and get inside. From there, they had to walk down a small staircase before reaching the indoor cemetery. There were several floor tombs and a few urns with ashes. They skimmed all the names and meisters as they headed down the hall. No one seemed particularly important, except for one man. A man named Haru Nakamura. He had been a priest and an exorcist in the early 17th century. Could this be the man they were looking for? There were not many Catholic priests back then, and since the letters seemed rather old... He looked around to see if there were any cameras, and when he couldn't see any, reached into his bag to gather a few tools. He reached for a crowbar, and with the help of the girl, they managed to lift the stone just enough to get access to the tomb. Inside lied an old, dusty skeleton who, to their luck, was wearing the key in question. Someone was walking down the stairs as he reached for it, and the very moment he got it and placed it in the mold, a guard appeared. Luckily, none of them had taken off the cloak, so all the man saw, was the tomb being open. He ran over, and both Yukio and Shōjo hurried off, heading further inside to avoid the man. As they ran, Shōjo's hood fell off, revealing her in all her beauty and grace. The guard noticed and hurried after her, a gun in his hand.

To their luck, there was another staircase further ahead of them. Yukio opened the mold and took out the key, hoping it had been in there long enough to make a proper shape, before placing it on the floor. Seeing as the guard was rather far away now, she quickly put the hood back on, and together they headed back upstairs.

The exit turned out to be the exact same as the entrance, making it seem like they ran in a circle.

* * *

Hatsuo melted the tin and poured it into the mold, then waited for it to hardening before opening it. The key copy turned out just fine, so all it needed was to be sanded down a bit. There was a strange symbol on it, one that looked like a cross and some strange figure. Yukio had seen that one before on a stone in the exhibition room and decided to take the key with him to examine it further. He would have to wait until morning to do so.

* * *

He reached the room at around 10 am, and with no one around, he placed the replica key on the stone. It looked like a map, and he wasted no time taking a picture of it to then quickly put the key back into his pocket. As he turned to go out, Lewin appeared right behind him.

"I see you're interested in rocks? Or is it the symbol on it that you're fascinated by?" he asked as he went and stroked it with his finger. "We found it on the top of a well down in the catacombs."

"You found a well down there? Is it possible to enter it?" Yukio questioned as the man started walking around, looking for something.

"Sure it is, but it's dangerous. It's filled with water that keeps rising."

"The water is rising? How can it rise in a well? There shouldn't be any tides."

"You're quick I'll give you that. Come look at this." Lighting waved for Yukio to come over to where he stood, observing an underground map. "Due to there being a lot of groundwater in a very deep basement not far from the catacomb, every day at around 15:15, they'll pump out a lot of water. This makes the water rise in the well. At least that's what we've figured out so far. At 15:15 the water level will be at its highest."

"So right before they pump out the water, it'll be at its lowest…" Yukio stated and started walking off towards the exit.

"That's correct… Now, what is it you and that girl are doing? I hope for you that you aren't going against orders." Lewin called out, making Yukio stop up and turn around to face him.

"I would never go against direct orders. All I'm doing is handing over information. That's the only task I've been given as of late." He sent a smile before leaving the room.


	13. December 13th

As Yukio headed down towards the basement, he couldn't help but feel like someone was keeping their eyes on him, but whenever he looked back, no one was there. It was as if someone was following him around, and whoever that was, didn't want him to know.

He tried to shake them off by walking faster and taking another, more complicated route than he usually did. He entered the basement once it felt safe and hurried down the known hallways towards the hideout. He had to tell the others about his newly gathered information. He hadn't been fond of waiting until the day after to tell them, as every minute counted, but he didn't want to risk someone following him, not after the question Lewin asked him the day before.

He called out for the girl once he reached the hideaway, excited to tell her that he now knew the entrance to the dungeon. Her and Daishi both smiled upon hearing that they finally made some proper process.

"So we're going down there today?" The girl asked.

"Yes, but I have to attend an exam as an examiner first. It will take a few hours, and we won't have much time once I come back." There were a few exams coming up, meaning that Yukio would now have something he had to do before he could continue investigating the secret. As he left, the feeling of being under surveillance came back.

The girl wasn't too fond of going, not liking the thought of there being very dark. Even though she had gotten more used to the darkness in the catacombs, it still wasn't as dark as it would be inside a well and beyond.

While Yukio was away to oversee a class full of anxious students, Hatsuo decided to try and test the rope and the climbing harness that they had managed to get their hands on. As Shōjo was hoisted up and down, Daishi came by.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? They're only kids, they shouldn't be going into a well, what if they can't get back up?" Daishi asked, watching as she came back down from reaching the ceiling.

"I understand why you're worried, I'm worried too, but they'll be okay." Hatsuo replied as he helped Shōjo out of the gear. "We're like a family, and I'm thankful. But we have to find the angel."

Hatsuo had left the hideout to find more gear, but once he came back to the basement, a dark-haired man wearing a hat sat near the entrance to the hideout. Hatsuo jumped back in surprise and dropped the gear as Lewin spoke up. "What's your name? Don't act so surprised, I'm not gonna hurt you." When Hatsuo didn't answer, Lightning continued. "What are you doing here?" Another pause. "You know what, don't bother answering, I already know."

"I'm not doing anything." He anxiously answered as he walked past him.

"You live here. Would be sad if I had to tell the guards about this." Lewin called out, making him turn around.

"You wouldn't do that."

"No, of course not. But then you'll have to do me a favor. That's fair, isn't it? You just have to tell me what Yukio and that girl is doing."

Hatsuo shook his head and started walking again, only for Lewin to continue. "It's for their own safety. I'm not gonna tell anyone. It would be a shame if you all end up being kicked out, you'll have to live on the street during Christmas. Now that wouldn't happen if you just told me what I wish to know."

Shōjo was wearing a jumpsuit and testing out the new gear, making sure that the lamp around her forehead worked properly when Yukio finally came back. There was a set for him to wear as well, and he didn't waste any time putting it on.

"Why don't you two wait and go tomorrow? The well will fill with water in less than two hours." Daishi stated as Hatsuo handed Yukio a lantern and a rope.

"There's something I have to tell you." Hatsuo told Yukio after hugging the girl. "But it can wait until you come back."

Yukio and Shōjo glided down to the catacombs. Yukio looked at a new map he had managed to get from the exhibition room and showed her which way they were supposed to go to get to the well. As they were about to head inside, they heard someone coming their way. Two guards stood right outside the main entrance, the one they couldn't go through due to it being locked. One of the guards was, unsurprisingly, Kinzo. who talked about setting up more cameras. The other guard turned out to be Shura, which did come as a complete surprise. Luckily, she was against that, saying that it wasn't needed as no one but the assigned teams would enter. But Kinzo didn't give up, he was sure that something was about to happen and that they would need those cameras. Shura would have none of that and ordered him to go back to his post and do his work. Did she know what Yukio was doing? Was she helping him?

Once both were gone, the two of them finally turned on the storm lantern and headed inside.

The further inside they came, the darker it got. The glow from the lanterns illuminated the ruins closest to them, giving out almost blue light. They carefully made their way over the rocks and debris, trying their best not to trip. As they got closer to the well, Shōjo started to feel strange and had to take a break. She put a hand to her head and leaned over, soon sitting on the ground.

"I don't feel too good." She stated as she tried to collect herself. When Yukio asked her what was wrong, she brushed it off and got back up. They then continued walking until they reached the well. They could just about make it before the water would start to rise. They readied the rope by installing a pulley and soon enough, Yukio was heading down there with Shōjo caring for the rope up top. It would have been better if she was the one going down there due to the difference in weight, but she should still be able to pull him back up, as long as she stayed focused and used the right technique.

Yukio looked down at the low laying water before slowly hoisting himself down. Once he reached the bottom, he noticed that the water was ice cold and that there was a grid. It seemed to be the entrance. Yukio tried to get it open, but he couldn't, and while he fought, the water began to rise. When he called out for the girl, she didn't answer. Her lantern was failing, and the lack of light seemed to affect her negatively as she started to lose consciousness. Yukio kept on calling for her without getting an answer, and the water now reached his hips. He tried but failed to climb back up, but as the water passed Yukio's chin and he tried to stay afloat in the ice-cold water, the light came back on and Shōjo regained her consciousness. Though very weak and barely able to get back up, she clawed at the edge of the well and began to pull at the rope, making it possible for Yukio to get back up. He was completely drenched once he reached the top, and the girl apologized, telling him that she for some reason fell weak.

They got dried off when they came back to the hideout, Yukio mildly sniffing while the girl just sat there, still feeling a bit off. The jumpsuits were put on the heater while Yukio tried to figure out what was wrong with her. Perhaps low blood sugar levels? She said that she was fine, but he knew better. She looked ill.

But they now knew where the entrance was, so they could go back there tomorrow.

As Yukio headed home, Lewin approached him near the exit of True Cross Academy.

"That girl you're with, she's a strange one, isn't she? She asked me to help her find an angel? What a wild imagination!"

"She... Yes, she can't tell the difference between fiction and reality. I'm sorry you had to listen to her rambling." Yukio replied and walked past him, leaving the building. She had gone behind Yukio's back by telling, and he felt betrayed. She was nothing but a thief and a liar, how was he supposed to trust her now?


	14. December 14th

If the girl was running around telling people about their discoveries, then Yukio would be better off without her. No one else knew about the things they were doing, so it could only be her. Unless Lewin knew more than they first thought…

No, it had to be her. She couldn't be trusted. He would have to go into the catacombs alone.

Rin had gotten suspicious. There was something going on that no one told him about, leaving him in the dark.

"So, you're going to the catacombs again? Who's on your team? You never told me." Rin tried to gather some info as he kept his brother from leaving. At least for now. He wanted some answers or a sign that he was lying.

"I'm on a team with Shura, that's the only one you know so I won't bore you with other names." Yukio replied, trying his best to keep eye contact with him.

"Yeah? Why don't you ever tell me what you and Shura are doing? Or is it you and the girl from the basement who are going down there on your own?" He was almost sure that he had cracked the code, yet he felt unsure when Yukio shook his head, almost looking offended.

"That girl is nothing but trouble, why would I risk my life by going there with her? No, I got my own team." Or rather, a team of one. Rin moved to the side, letting Yukio pass through.

"Alright just, be careful, and tell me if you find anything!"

* * *

As Yukio made his way through the halls of the school, oranges suddenly rolled past him from behind. When he turned to look, the girl was there, smiling.

"So, are we going back there today?" She asked, seeming rather motivated this time. Her smile faltered when she saw the frown on his face. "What? What is it?"

"You told Lightning about our findings." Yukio stated. "Why did you do that?"

"I did that? I don't think I did." She quickly replied as she started picking up the oranges.

"Yes, you did, he told me that you've asked him for help. I'll be going down there by myself this time, without you." He started walking again. "I can't trust you anymore."

As he hurried off, Shōjo followed right behind. "I didn't snitch you!"

"Then why does he know everything?" he shot back as he entered the basement.

"He knows everything? Really?"

"Stop following me!" Yukio was getting annoyed. Why was she so persistent? Then again, she wanted to know the secret as well, so she needed him.

"I promise you I didn't say anything!" She cried out as Yukio reached for the scooter that stood at the same spot it always did to get to the hatch quicker. Once he got there, he turned to look at the girl who had been running after him. She was panting, trying to catch her breath. She went quiet once he started driving, knowing that he didn't want to listen, but still followed. Yukio then turned back to the slide and glided down. Once he reached the bottom, he opened his backpack and put on his jumpsuit and proper boots. With the lantern in hand, he went inside on his own. As he headed towards the well, the feeling of being watched came back. It had to be the girl still following him.

"Yukio?" At the sound of his name, he quickly turned around, coming face to face with Lightning.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" The man asked as he shone his flashlight at Yukio's face, making it almost impossible to keep his eyes open. He felt like a deer caught in the headlight.

"Just, looking around. I'm not doing anything particularly interesting. You're by yourself as well." He pointed out as he continued walking towards the well.

"So? I'm higher ranked than you, so it shouldn't come as a surprise… Anyway, that girl, she told me that this, angel, was locked up?"

"She did?" He could feel the anger come back, but instead of letting it get to him, he decided to try a different approach. If he didn't have a partner anymore, then he would have to find a new one, and even though he didn't like this the slightest, he had to try it.

"Lightning, I know where the entrance to the dungeon is located. If you follow me, then I'll show you."

The man lit up like a Christmas tree. "Then show the way!"

As they reached the well, Lewin used his flashlight to get a proper look at it. Some of the gear was still there, like the rope, making it faster to enter.

"I'll head down there, but you have to stay up here and keep your eyes on the rope." With that Yukio headed back into the well, hoping that he could trust Lewin enough. A part of him didn't, but he didn't really have anyone else that could help. Rin was too weak, and the girl surely couldn't be trusted. And Lewin was a teacher, he wouldn't let a student die… Right?

Once he got all the way down, Lewin followed… Wait, he followed? Then how would they get back up? Good thing they had well over 50 minutes. Once he got down, he helped Yukio opening the small gridded gate. Together they headed inside.

It was a grotto, water still by their feet as they looked around in amazement.

"I think we're the first to be here in centuries." Lewin spoke up, wearing a huge grin. They headed onwards, following the stream of water.

"I can't believe you found this… Wait, what's that around your neck?" He looked at the key around Yukio's neck and reached for it, soon stroking it. "Now that's pretty. Did you make that yourself?"

Yukio flinched when Lewin reached for his throat, simply nodding and pulling away from his grasp when he realized that he wasn't going to strangle him, then continued walking until they reached an edge. It wasn't a big drop, but high enough for someone to climb down and not jump.

"Hey now, why don't you go first? I'll help you get down, then you can help me afterwards." Lightning suggested, but as he was on his way down, the man suddenly let go, making Yukio fall. Luckily there weren't that far down. When Yukio tried to stand, he noticed that something was wrong with his foot. Did he land on it?

"Hey kid, you okay? Sorry for that, my hand slipped… We should head back before the water rises."

"No, we should continue on." He called back, trying his best to walk.

"You're limping. You hurt your foot, didn't you?"

"I have to find the angel!" Yukio wasn't sure why he yelled that, especially not with Lewin right there.

"Be reasonable. This can wait, just give me your hand."

In the end, Yukio had to give in and let Lightning help him up.

As they got out of the well, Yukio had no idea that the girl and Hatsuo had been waiting at the top. But before he noticed, both had made sure to hide to not get caught, realizing that Yukio wasn't alone. They watched as Lewin helped Yukio walk, apparently having been hurt.

"He's got a new friend." She whispered to Hatsuo once they were far enough away to not hear them, and he simply nodded in agreement.

* * *

It wasn't until Yukio came back to the dorm, foot swollen and skin scraped that he realized that the key was gone. Before he could start to panic, his brother's voice greeted him from the opposite bed.

"Hey Yukio, did you reach the dungeon? Wait, what happened to your foot?" Yukio could hear the worry in his tone, and before he could say anything, Rin was by his side, looking it over. "You should put something cold around it."

"I know, I will." He simply replied as he looked at it with a frown.

"You know, I don't mind if you don't find the angel. I don't like you going down there, it's the second time you've gotten hurt."

"Don't worry, I'm not alone.


	15. December 15th

Yukio was met by Hatsuo as he headed towards a coffee machine nearby Lewin's office. The man wasn't there yet, so there was no current threat. He looked like he had something important to talk about.

"I know you're mad at Shōjo for sharing your secret with Lewin, but she's not the one who did it." He looked around to make sure no one was listening in on them before continuing. "I know who did it…"

"It was you." Yukio stated upon seeing the guilty look on the man's face, tears threatening to spill.

"I had to. If I didn't tell him, he would have kicked us out. He promised not to do anything. I'm sorry…" Hatsuo used his sleeve to wipe at his face. Yukio placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to get eye contact with him.

"It's okay. I understand why you did it. But you should have said it sooner. This means that it was Lewin who lied." Yukio looked across the hall and towards the man's office. He couldn't keep up this partnership, it didn't feel right. He had to go to the basement and talk to the girl.

As they entered the hideout, a faint melody could be heard. It was Shōjo playing her song on her harmonica. She was lying on the table, looking at the ceiling.

"Oh? You're back." Daishi stated before calling out for the girl. "Look who came along!"

She looked up but lied back down. "I don't wanna see him."

Yukio walked closer. "I'm sorry for not believing you. Can you forgive me?"

She sat up with a smile. "Can we be friends again?"

He agreed and followed her into what seemed to be her room. They had to crawl up a ladder to get there. Upon reaching the top, he looked around. There were little thingamajigs here and there, and she had decorated the walls with Christmas ornaments. It looked cozy. Her bed was nothing but a mattress, and she had two blankets to keep her warm.

"Something bad happened… I lost the key down in the catacomb." Yukio explained, and the girl's smile turned into a frown. They would have to go down there and find it.

* * *

Cameras had been put up by the hatch. When it turned off, they would have about nine seconds to get inside. Once they opened it, a grid had been installed, making it impossible to get inside without proper cutting tools. They hurried back to the hideout, hoping that the men had the proper gear.

"That was quick. Did you get in?" Daishi asked upon seeing them. He was putting up garlands.

"No, Lightning has put up a grid." Yukio informed, watching as the man had a fit, swearing about the man in question before turning to look back at the two of them.

"But how could he know everything about the secret if no one snitched?" Apparently, Hatsuo hadn't told him anything about that. "And why is he lying? And why would he block the entrance?"

Yukio was quick to pretend that he didn't know, not wanting to tell on Hatsuo. The man would tell when he was ready to do so, and now was a bad time for that.

"Before we do anything else." Daishi started. "We'll have to figure out what he's doing, and there's only one way to do that: We'll have to spy on him."

"But he'll notice us." Yukio pointed out before the girl jumped into the conversation. "She doesn't know you Daishi. Why don't you spy on her?"

He glared at her, clearly not amused. "No, I'm not going to spy on anyone."

* * *

How did he end up in a hat and a scarf, lurking around inside the exhibition hall, a kid and a teen following right behind? Not that it would really matter, as no one was there. Not even the cameras were on. This seemed fishy, but they entered anyway. As Yukio quickly guided him around, telling him what the things on display were, Shōjo managed to find a laptop. When looking under the desk, she found a bag. Inside it, they found a small case with a letter on it saying unknown material. Upon opening it, something very shiny and almost blinding appeared, making Yukio drop it in surprise. It was what looked like a feather. Before they got a chance to look further, Shura suddenly appeared, making Yukio hurry to hide the thing behind his back.

"Hey kiddo's, have you seen Lightni- who the hell are you?" Shura noticed the unknown man, then turned her eyes to the girl. "You look familiar, have we met?"

She shook her head and Yukio quickly lied. "She's a friend, and that's her father. He's an exorcist from another branch. I'm just showing them around."

"I see." Shura was clearly suspicious. She knew Yukio too well to believe he'd befriended someone outside of cram school, or, anywhere really. Still, she reached out a hand to shake his. "I'm Shura, and you are?"

"Daishi. Nice to meet you." He gave his best fake smile and it seemed to work.

"Daishi. Why don't the two of us go and have a chat downstairs?" Unable to say no, the man followed Shura out of the room. As the two left, Lewin entered, quickly greeting both as they met by the hall. When he noticed Yukio and Shōjo, he greeted them as well.

"I see you two are keeping watch for me. I'm glad you've become friends again." He went and looked into his bag, seemingly looking for the exact thing they just took. They would have to put the case down somewhere.

"You've been inside the Catacomb today, haven't you?" Yukio questioned, watching as he turned the bag upside down.

"Yep. Couldn't take you with me, it's dangerous down there, and if you died, I would be held responsible. You're just a kid after all."

"We had an agreement." Yukio pointed out as Lewin put his things back in his bag with a sigh.

"I understand why you're upset, it would have been nice having you with me. I promise I'll tell you if I find something."

"Yeah, great. Thanks." Yukio turned around and headed back out, ignoring the glare sent his way. When Lightning looked around his desk some more, he found the case. So, the kid didn't take it with him after all.

* * *

The talk with Shura had turned into nothing but questions about the girl and her friendship with Yukio. She had been sure to provide a few beers, which he didn't say no to. They talked about the girl having a bad effect on Yukio, but before they could get further into that matter, Daishi realized that he already emptied two bottles. Knowing that he made a mistake, he hurried off without saying anything, leaving a confused Shura behind. He shouldn't be drinking, not when he was trying to stop.

* * *

As Yukio and Shōjo watched the sunset from Yukio's dorm room, he handed the girl an old phone of his. This way she could call him if need be. Hopefully, that wouldn't be necessary, but no one knew what the future would bring. They were whispering to avoid waking up a seemingly sleeping Rin, yet didn't talk too much about the secret, just in case he was pretending to be asleep. They agreed to try and find that key, as well as avoid Lewin the best they could. That guy couldn't be trusted. Unknown to them, he was making deals with others behind their back.


	16. December 16th

Kinzo had been sitting not far from the entrance to the hideout most of the night, waiting for someone to leave. He was half asleep when someone finally came through the entrance to the boiling room. He watched as the man left through another door, then hurried back to the CCTV room and dialed Shura's number, asking for her to come down for a talk. Once she arrived, Kinzo had laid out a map and used a red marker to pinpoint the location.

"Right there, someone's living in the basement. I saw one with my own eyes, and there's likely more."

Shura clearly didn't believe him, but she couldn't just reject him either in case he was speaking the truth. "Alright fine, then call down the other guards, we'll meet you have in half an hour."

As she left, Kinzo did a little victory dance on the spot before scribbling some more on the map, then used his walkie talkie to call out all the guards that would patrol nearby. He was going to catch these thieves.

Rin was chilling in the dorm with the other esquires, using their spare time on making and putting up Christmas decorations. Not being able to leave the building made life boring, even more so when you weren't allowed to move around much. It wasn't like he didn't have any energy at all, he still got restless from time to time, and even though he had a constant battle with himself, he couldn't sleep all day every day. As they were throwing paper at each other, Bon's phone suddenly started ringing. It was Lewin calling.

Despite not wanting to take it, he still did.

"Why are you calling? There's what?" The others sat there, listening as he talked to his boss. When he ended the call, he looked down at the others. "Lewin called, something about finding thieves in the basement of True Cross? They're collecting all the guards, about to break into their hideout in about half an hour. I'll have to head over there."

Hearing this and watching Bon put on his jacket, Rin suddenly stood up.

"Stomach ache, I'll be back." He mumbled before hurrying out of the room and into the nearest bathroom, then reached into his phone to call his brother. He had to warn him, hopefully he could do something about this. It took a while for him to pick up.

"Yukio? They've discovered the hideout! Guards are on their way towards the basement! You better figure something out!"

Luckily Yukio wasn't that far away, having been lurking around the school to find something to do. It had been a quiet day, or so he thought before getting the call.

"Alright, I'm on my way!

Guards had gathered near Kinzo's post, playing around as they awaited orders. Unknown to them, Yukio had made his way to the hideout to warn the three illegally living there.

"The guards! They know you're here! You have to leave!" He yelled out as he entered, all of them busy decorating a Christmas tree. They dropped everything they were doing and hurried around to collect everything that might be a sign of someone living there, which luckily wasn't much, as a lot of the signs and a good amount of furniture had been there from when they arrived. They had to be very quick, as time was running short. Luckily, Yukio had a key that could transport them outside, and the furniture and objects could be thrown out there for the time being.

They just about made it in time and got out as the guards entered and started looking around. When they didn't find anything other than an undecorated Christmas tree, they turned to Kinzo.

Shura poked at his chest with a scowl. "I'm tired of ya' little games kiddo, no one's here! This is ya' last chance, do it again an' you're fired. Got it?"

"They can't just disappear like that!" Kinzo yelled after the others as they left, leaving him alone in the room. He looked around, calling out for the hobos to come out of their hiding.

Once they knew that everyone including Kinzo was gone, they got out of their hiding.

"You're the one who snitched on us, aren't you!" Daishi immediately went after Yukio. "You little brat, get the hell out of here! I never want to see you down here again!" He grabbed Yukio by the arm and started dragging him off when Hatsuo suddenly cut in and blocked the exit.

"No! It wasn't him. Lewin knows where we live. I told him that Yukio and Shōjo were looking for the angel. He promised to keep it a secret, but he went and told on us anyway."

It was quiet for a moment before Daishi spoke up again. "Hatsuo, you know what you are? You're an idiot. And a damn fool."

Hatsuo nodded and waved goodbye, the guilt making him think that he wasn't welcome anymore.

"Where do you think you're going? Are you just going to leave me and the girl to fend for ourselves?" Daishi asked as he walked over.

"No, of course not, I…"

Before they got a chance to finish up the apologies, the sound of Kinzo yelling from the other room made them tense up. They had to get out, right now.

Yukio knew where they could live for the time being. The dormitory was big enough for three more, which also meant that they would be able to shower and sleep in proper beds. Rin had been surprised upon seeing them, not really knowing the two men very well. Yukio had made sure to call his brother before bringing them, and the esquires had been politely asked to leave. Rin wasn't very fond of lying to them, but they shouldn't be involved in a mess like this, especially not Bon when he worked as Lewin's assistant.

Rin prepared some easy food while Yukio and the others started discussing things. They had to figure out just what Lewin was planning.

Shortly after, Yukio and Shōjo were hiding behind a large display inside the exhibition hall, quietly listening to Lightning talking on his phone. Yukio had to give Mephisto the cloaks back, which made things that more difficult. They quietly followed him as he left the room and headed towards the basement. Down there Lewin entered the CCTV room. As they secretively looked through the window to the room, they noticed that he was wearing the key around his neck. Yukio made the girl use the old phone he had given her to call a number, then he headed inside the room

"Lewin." He started off casually. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry if I seemed like a burden to you." He carefully placed his own phone on the desk.

"I understand why you don't want me to go into the catacombs. I'm not on a team after all."

"You're right, you have nothing to do there." Kinzo agreed even though he didn't know that Yukio already had been there. Shōjo listened in from the other end.

Yukio just smiled and headed out, leaving the phone behind. As he got back to her, they listened in on their conversation.

"Kinzo, we have to go down there before the water rises."

"Not today."

"It's easy, we just have to open up a grid blocking the way."

"There are guards all over, we'll be caught. It'll have to wait."

"Kinzo, we had an agreement."

"… Fine. We'll go around two."

Yukio couldn't believe it. Kinzo was helping Lewin. A guard was doing something illegal. Yukio hurried back to the room once Lewin was gone, apologizing for the inconvenience as he pretended to look for his phone, then grabbed it after searching for a few minutes and ran off again. Hopefully, Kinzo was stupid enough to not realize that the phone had been used to spy.

As they headed down the hall, they heard someone fiddling with keys. Peeking through the corner, they noticed Lightning unlocking a door. Once the man was inside and the door was closed, they sneaked over. There was a sign on the door saying, 'no entrance allowed'. Yukio looked through the keyhole to see the man sitting by a table, cleaning a skull. It looked like some sort of workshop. Just as Yukio was about to stand back up, Lewin suddenly looked directly to the keyhole, squinting.


	17. December 17th

They were almost discovered. Had Yukio and Shōjo not acted fast and hurried off, then Lewin might have caught them spying on him. How long had he been having a workshop in the basement? Was it a place he set up shortly after discovering the catacomb. Had it always been there? Yukio knew how fascinated Lewin was by demons and supernatural beings, that he had been studying them for years out of pure interest, but this was going a tad too far

Back at the dorm, Yukio looked for proper gear to break into the workshop while Shōjo was sitting by one of the desks, drawing. They had to find a way to get the key back, lure him into a trap, or catch him by surprise. It would be risky, but they had to do something before he ventured further into the dungeon.

"So that thing you're drawing, is it a church?" Rin asked the girl as he watched her draw.

"It is! It's the one we visited in Rome. And this," she turned the paper "is where we opened a tomb to get the key. And this," she pointed at a stick figure "is you."

While the two of them looked at drawings, Daishi entered and turned to Yukio. "We can't stay here forever. Either we find a way back into the basement or we'll have to find shelter outside somewhere. We appreciate your hospitality, but this won't work out for any of us." The man stated, and the girl frowned. Hatsuo heard him and stood up from the chair he was sitting on and approached them.

"We can't celebrate Christmas outside, what about the party?"

That threw Yukio off guard. A party? They were preparing a party?

"You're welcome to stay here for Christmas, there's room enough." Rin spoke up with a smile. Daishi shook his head.

"No, it's too risky. I heard you invite people over often, what if they noticed us?"

The man's logic made no sense. The very reason they were there in the first place, was due to them being seen in the basement. Unless they found another way inside, that wouldn't be an option.

"…I found some lockpicks under your bed when I looked for a board game. " The girl changed the topic. "We could use those to get into the workshop."

Yukio agreed and put them in his pocket. "We'll go and get that key now, then the two of you can continue bickering if you so desire."

As the two of them left, Rin smiled and reached into a drawer under his bed. "Why don't we play a game of Ludo?"

They silently agreed and, together with him, sat down on his bed and started the game.

As they got about halfway through a second game, someone suddenly knocked on his door. It was Shura. She had promised to come and make sure Rin took his medicine, as the shot could be rather difficult to take on his own. The two men hurried over to hide in a wardrobe each, and once they were out of sight, Rin opened the door.

"Took ya long enough" Shura complained as she followed him back to his bed. "Ya playin' alone?" She questioned as she sat down and began to prepare the syringe.

"Yup, gotta do something with all this spare time. So, when will I go on missions again?"

Shura didn't answer as she put on gloves, peeled away metal from the top of the vial and wiped the top with an alcohol swab. Once that was done, she took off the cap on the syringe and carefully put it into the vial, then turned it upside down and drew it back to the proper volume. Rin just watched the procedure, still waiting for an answer as she pulled it out. The syringe was now filled with a red liquid.

The men watched from their places of hiding as she gently poked it into Rin's neck. This would explain why he couldn't do it on his own. Once that was done, Shura patted at it with cotton.

"We don't know when." She finally answered. "Hopefully ya stop degenerating, once we reach that we'll start talkin 'bout missions." She stood up and stretched before removing the gloves. "Is too early for this, imma head off. Good luck playin', hope ya win." With that she gathered everything and headed back out. Once she was gone, the men came out of hiding.

* * *

Yukio and Shōjo were trying to open the door, but it took a bit longer than they anticipated. Once they _did_ get inside, they started looking around. There were skulls and fossils laying around, most of them likely to be found down by the ruins. A microscope stood on the desk, surrounded by all kinds of liquids. There were shelves with wooden boxes and papers. Was this an illegal workshop? Or did he have permission to be there?

They began putting up fishing lines near the ground, meant to make Lewin trip. If he fell, they might be able to grab the key and run off. As they were putting up the trap, someone could be heard slamming a door. He was on his way towards them, leaving them panicking as they frantically looked for a place to hide. They ended up hiding inside a wooden box standing on the ground. They hurried to turn off the lights and enter the empty box.

Much to their despair, Lewin avoided falling face first upon reaching the trap. As the man glared at the snare, he stood up and turned his eyes towards the box.

"Clever!" He called out as he walked over to a drawer, reached into it and pulled out a lock. He then left as soon as he arrived, locking the door from the outside. Whatever he wanted to do in there could apparently wait.

Yukio and the girl hurried out of the box and ran over to the door once it had been closed. Sure enough, it was locked. They had to find another way out.

As they looked around, this time for an exit, Yukio noticed a case on the desk. It was the same one he found some days before, but this time it was empty. The feather-like thing was gone. Did Lewin steal it? Why would he have it on him instead of putting it on display?

"I found something!" Shōjo suddenly yelled out. She had found a vent, and by standing on a couple of boxes, they could reach it and get inside. It was just about big enough for them to crawl through. They took off their shoes to avoid making too much noise.

As they made their way through the ventilation shaft, the girl suddenly stopped walking and looked through the grid. Lewin was walking right underneath them. She hurried to pick up her harmonica from her pocket and started playing her melody. She quickly removed the grid and reached down to grab the necklace. She succeeded in reaching it, and Lewin tried to pull back to avoid getting choked. The man wasn't fast enough as he was caught by surprise, and Shōjo managed to get the key. The two then hurried to crawl onwards, having to get out before Lewin could reach the other end. Lewin was fast, but due to walls being in the way, he didn't get to them in time. They started running once they were out, and as they passed one corner after the other, they managed to get away. They had been lucky.

* * *

Yukio proudly showed off the key once they got back to the dorm.

"You got it!" Rin cried out and hurried over to get a better look at it.

"You should have seen Shōjo, she just ripped it right off of his neck." For once, Yukio felt a bit excited. "We didn't find a way for you to get home though."

Both men nodded in understanding. "Guess we'll have to stay here for a while then." Daishi spoke as he stood up. "At least we won't have to share a room."


	18. December 18th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and kudos are highly appreciated!

Yukio had somehow managed to talk Suguro into distracting Lewin without telling him the reason behind it. This meant that Yukio and the girl would have a chance to get into the dungeon before the water started to rise, and hopefully, Bon could keep Lewin occupied until then. He just had to keep the man out of the basement until 15:15, surely, he could come up with some good excuse. They would have to be careful, as security might have been strengthened after what happened the day before.

While Lewin was distracted, Hatsuo put up a picture in front of the security camera aimed at the hatch to the catacombs. Earlier he had taken a polaroid right next to it while it was turned off, supplying them with a near-perfect imitation of the view through the lens. Luckily, no one really patrolled that hall. Hatsuo learned that trick from doing a break in once. As soon as they knew they wouldn't be recorded, Yukio reached into his back and pulled out pliers to cut the grid. They didn't cut it all the way around, making sure they could close it back up. Or at least make it look like it hadn't been cut into. Yukio and the girl thanked Hatsuo for the help before gliding down.

The girl still wasn't fond of the darkness, and she hadn't been inside the grotto yet, so going down there wasn't one of the things she looked forward to. But if they wanted to find the angel, then they had to do it. She would have to ignore the awful feeling and try not to think too much of it.

They carefully made their way towards the well, and upon reaching it, started walking down the ladder Lewin had put up. Another sign the man had been there not long ago. It was dark, but their lanterns made the water reflect the light, and little waves could be seen on the walls and the ceiling of the grotto.

The girl looked around in awe.

"How are you feeling? The darkness isn't too much this time?" Yukio asked as they found their way through the low water.

"No, I'm feeling okay so far."

As they reached the edge, a ladder had been put up there as well. They climbed down, the girl going first, and Yukio shone the light at her as she did so. Once down, they continued onwards. They walked past one corner after the other, the sound of bats making both dodge just in time as a swarm came flying just above their heads. How those things managed to survive down there was a mystery all on its own.

As they carefully slid down a pile of rocks, they noticed a heart carved into the stone wall. Not far from there was a pile of human bones, and the girl shivered. As they continued, they reached a point with two different paths. They didn't have much time left, so they chose the one to the right. Once reaching a dead-end, Yukio noticed a crevice. They started removing rocks to go past, but once they got all the way through, a rumble made stones fall from the ceiling. Yukio pushed the girl forward, before jumping out of the way himself, trapping them on the other side.

Where they ended up was very small, too small to be the dungeon. Some of the newly fallen rocks were too heavy to remove, so they had to try the other way. As crawled through the small pathway, they removed a good amount of smaller stones to be able to get through, and after crawling for a while, they reached a small scuttle. Outside that gate was a brick wall and light.

"What the hell are you doing in there!" They looked up and got eye contact with a guard. "This is a museum, not a playground!"

They had somehow managed to travel all the way from True Cross Academy and down to one of the local museums. None of them had any clue as to how that worked. The guard unlocked the door, but before he could ask them how they got in there, Yukio and the girl ran off as fast as they possibly could.

If they took the patch on their left, then they might have reached the dungeon. They would have to try again tomorrow. Hopefully, Lewin had been distracted long enough, and perhaps they could find a way to distract him again tomorrow.


	19. December 19th

"You're going down there again today, aren't you?" Rin asked as he and Yukio sat in the kitchen. It was early, and the others had yet to wake up. Rin was baking sugar cookies which took a bit longer than it usually would as he made sure to take plenty of breaks whenever he felt like he was going short on breath. His feet and fingers had turned purple, and the skin was wrinkling. He had made jokes about it, saying that he was getting old, but that was far from the case. He was wearing a nasal cannula to get some much-needed oxygen, as his lungs were failing. The only reason why he was still in the dorm and not in some secret hospital ICU, was due to him still functioning. He could still walk, and he wasn't in a critical condition.

"If you're going, then take some cookies with you." Rin opened the oven and took out a plate, then carefully put a bunch of them in a lunch box. Yukio accepted them and put them in his backpack. Rin knew that Yukio wasn't on a team after asking Shura about it the other day, which meant that he was going down there with no one but the girl. At least that's how it seemed. He hadn't told Yukio that he knew, because all he would gain from that would be lies. Rin knew he couldn't keep him from going, so trying wouldn't do anything. All he could do was hope he would be okay.

Daishi promised to try and lure Lewin into a trap, as Yukio would have a tight schedule and wouldn't be able to go down the well before around two in the afternoon. This meant that they only had about an hour down there before the water would start to rise.

Once he left, Daishi, Hatsuo and Shōjo all sat down to discuss. They had to find a way to distract Lewin, as Bon couldn't risk trying anything again without Lewin getting suspicious, and since Bon thought he simply did Yukio a favor, they couldn't risk anything. They had to somehow outsmart Lightning…

* * *

Hatsuo stood in the hall of the basement, watching as Lewin walked towards him. When Hatsuo stopped him, he started tapping his foot, clearly impatient.

"I have to tell you something very important." Hatsuo started. "It's a secret."

"Good for you but I'm kinda busy. It can wait." Lewin was about to walk past him when Hatsuo stopped him.

"It's about Yukio and Shōjo, it has to do with the dungeon."

"Alright fine, tell."

Hatsuo looked around. "Not here, someone might hear us. Why don't we go somewhere more discrete?" He pointed out the nearby room. The door was heavy and watertight, but due to mild stress, Lewin didn't think of that as he walked inside. Once he was almost inside, he got a push, making him stumble inside. Hatsuo quickly closed the door and placed a seal that Yukio had drawn, successfully locking the door. It wouldn't keep him in there for very long, but hopefully long enough.

* * *

Yukio and Shōjo quickly found their way back into the grotto, and once they reached the crossroad, walked left instead of right, knowing that the right one would lead to a dead end.

They soon found the gate that Lewin already found some days ago but couldn't open. It was small and there was no keyhole, so this wasn't the one that needed the key to get access. As Yukio shone a light through it, the girl started playing around with the skulls laying above it, sticking her fingers into the eye sockets. She kept on stroking them, despite Yukio telling her to stop, but to their surprise, when she twisted her finger inside one of them, the gate opened. There had been a secret switch of some sort inside. Her childish and immature ways had proven to be an asset. It was like having Rin by his side, only a younger version.

They made their way through the small grid, but once they got inside, the girl started getting dizzy and had to sit down. Yukio handed her some water and told her to stay put while he looked around a bit. Once he came back to where he left her, she was gone.

"Shōjo?" He yelled out, careful not to be too loud in case his voice would create a cave-in. He walked around, trying to find a sign of her, but he didn't find any. He leaned his back against the wall of the cave, trying to collect his thoughts when he felt someone's presence. He could hear someone whisper in his ear and looked around, trying to locate the voice. He knew that he wasn't supposed to listen to demonic beings, but this felt different, like a spirit. He began to follow the voice.

* * *

Lewin had forced his way out of the room he had been trapped in by successfully destroying the seal, then the door itself. As he started running down the hall of the basement, he met Kinzo, who he pulled with him. They had to get into the dungeon, and they had to be fast.

* * *

Yukio had been following the unknown presence to what looked like a cave-in, but there was a hole in the wall leading into what seemed to be a room. He crawled through, and once he got inside, an almost yellow light illuminated the place. There was an old coffin in the middle, and the girl leaned against it. A bit further ahead was a large door. He walked over to the pale, ill-looking girl.

"How did you get here? Are you okay?" He asked as he sat down beside her.

"I'm just a little tired…" She answered as he placed a hand on her forehead. "Who was the girl you came with?"

"I came here on my own." He turned to look at the door. "This has to be the dungeon, and if so, then the angel is right in there."

He looked at the door, and there turned out to be multiple keyholes. This could be a possible trap, one keeping them from opening the door if they put the key in the wrong one.

Yukio looked at his phone. The water was about to rise. They would have to hurry out of there to make it back in time, but the girl wasn't feeling well. She was starting to pass out, and Yukio couldn't carry her all the way back, at least not fast enough. There wasn't a signal either, so he couldn't call anyone, not even his brother. They would have to sleep down there. The current level they were on was higher up than the grotto, meaning that the water wouldn't rise up to their current location.

* * *

Lewin didn't make it to the well in time as the water began to rise. He still tried to get down there, but Kinzo stopped him, trying to be reasonable. They would just have to go down there tomorrow.


	20. December 20th

Rin was worried. Yukio didn't come home the night before, he didn't even call to tell him why, and when Rin tried to call him, no one answered. Had it not been for Shura being there all night to keep her eyes on him, then he would have run off to try and find him. What if something happened to him? What if he was stuck under debris? He didn't get any sleep and just stared at the ceiling, wishing for Yukio to at least send a message. If he wasn't back by five in the afternoon, then Rin would go look for him. Shura couldn't stay forever, so he would have a chance to escape.

* * *

Yukio woke up covered in dust from the ceiling. He somehow managed to fall asleep, despite laying on sand and rocks. By his side lied Shōjo, looking peaceful despite her pale skin. It took Yukio a couple of attempts to wake her, and once she opened her eyes, she lazily sat up. They had been sleeping until around twelve in the afternoon, which was unusually long for Yukio. While Shōjo leaned her back against the wall and reached for the cookies in Yukio's bag, he went back to inspect the door. They were so close to the angel, all they had to do, was to figure out how to get inside. There had to be a clue somewhere.

As he went to inspect the coffin, he noticed a small piece of what looked like glass being stuck to the front, and a Latin sentence written on the side. Directly translated it said: _The light will show the way_.

He looked upwards, trying to get his eyes on some sort of lamp, when he noticed a crack in the ceiling, light emitting from the other side. It was covered by dust and spiderwebs, and a couple of branches had blocked the path of the light. He went and grabbed a rock, then threw it at the newly discovered crack. Once the thing blocking it fell off, a thin ray of light passed through. It made a perfect line that shone right towards the glass piece which reflected the light onto the door. It shone on one of the four keyholes. Yukio now knew which one to use the key on. Shōjo watched in awe, but her eyes felt heavy when Yukio turned the key, and she passed out sitting.

Once he opened the door, the small dungeon came into view. There was no angel, just a stone bench carved out from the wall and something thin laying on it. It looked like a butterfly wing mixed with a piece of dried-out coral, but before he got a chance to touch it, a strong light emitted from it and he had to step back to not get blinded. When Yukio turned his back to the light, he turned his attention to the girl still leaned against the wall. Her shadow changed, it was as if it expanded, wings slowly showing and spreading, and the aura around her felt completely different. It felt like he was close to something holy, something that he wasn't worthy enough to be this close to. The homeless girl had been the angel, how couldn't Yukio have noticed the signs and put two and two together? The constant need of light, the fact she didn't remember her past. Once the light fainted, the girl came out of her dazed state.

"What happened?" She asked upon getting to her feet.

"You fainted…" He couldn't get himself to touch her, not now that he knew what she really was. He couldn't get himself to tell her that she was an angel, not right on the spot. Would she simply disappear if he told her? Or would it stay until Rin had been cured?

"I fainted? That would explain why I feel so weird. It feels like, I have a purpose here. I'm longing for something, but I don't know what it is… Where's the angel?"

"It wasn't here." Yukio replied as he started to head out, her right behind him. "It's, somewhere else entirely."

Unknown to them, Lewin and Kinzo had found their way down there and watched the whole thing. As Yukio left, he had completely forgotten about the strange looking thing laying inside the dungeon, leaving it behind for Lewin to collect it.

He had to tell her. She was the one who could cure Rin, and yet Yukio had a hard time explaining it. How would she react? Would she even believe him? She didn't seem to have any powers, so how could he prove it?

* * *

Relief washed over Rin once he saw Yukio enter their dorm room. He was covered in dirt and he looked exhausted, but he was unhurt and alive! That was all that really mattered. When Rin asked him whether they found the angel, Yukio didn't answer, not at first at least. It wasn't before the girl had left the room to go to the kitchen for food that Yukio answered the question.

"It's the girl. She's the angel. She doesn't know yet, and I'm not sure what good it'll do to tell her. I have no knowledge on angelic creatures, I didn't even believe they existed until recently… She might disappear if she knows the truth."


	21. December 21th

Yukio had to tell her who she was. He couldn't let the fear of her disappearance keep him from telling her that she was the angel they had been searching for. He came to that conclusion when he woke up early in the morning to a brother who was barely breathing. Rin was curled up in a fetal position, lips blue from the lack of oxygen and face completely colorless. Yukio rushed over to check his vitals, a sigh of relief upon finding a pulse. The nasal tube had fallen out during his sleep, leaving him barely able to breathe. Once it was replaced, his breathing became better, yet the wheezing didn't improve. His condition was worsening, and there had been no signs of improvement.

* * *

Yukio was standing outside his dorm room, waiting for the girl. Shōjo usually arrived at around this time, and once she did, he would have to tell her the truth. He wasn't sure how she would react, but hopefully, she wouldn't have a hard time understanding. If she knew, then maybe she could heal him.

"Hey, Yukio! Are we going down there again today?" The girl asked as she came running towards him. Once she noticed his expression, her smile turned into a tight frown. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, something did happen." He turned to face her. "The reason we didn't find the angel, is because it's already here."

"Here? Where?" She started looking around, not fully understanding him. "I don't see it."

"It's you. You're the angel."

She blinked and stared at him. "I don't understand. Why are you calling me an angel when I'm not?"

"Because you are. Back in the dungeon, I saw you. Your shadow grew wings. Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what? What am I supposed to feel? Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?"

There was a moment of silence, both looking at each other before Yukio finally answered. "I was afraid you would leave if you knew the truth."

"…But, if I'm the angel, then I'm supposed to heal Rin."

Yukio simply nodded before turning to face the door to their dorm. When both entered, Rin was laying in bed, half-asleep. He woke up upon hearing the door open and looked up. They walked over and sat down near the bed. Once Rin knew that Yukio had told her, he couldn't help but speak up.

"I can't believe it. You've been searching for yourself this whole time… Do you think you can do it?"

"I can try. Though I'm not sure I know how." The girl answered and placed a hand on Rin's heart before closing her eyes. As time ticked by, nothing happened. When she removed her hand, Yukio asked him whether he felt better, but he didn't.

"It's not working." The girl stated, and Yukio rubbed at his face.

"But you don't have any wings either. Where are they?" Rin asked as he tried to hold back a cough. She simply shrugged. "Maybe you're supposed to have some training." He continued before sitting up with a now full-blown cough. "Maybe… Train your flight…" he spoke in between breaths before carefully standing up. He gathered all his pillows and blankets and placed them near his desk, before reaching for his glass of water to try and stop the coughing. Once the glass was empty, he turned his focus back to Shōjo. "Try and see if you can fly by jumping from the desk."

Yukio just glared at his brother, not sure whether he had gone mad, but before he could decline that idea, the girl was already standing on top of the desk. She took off her jacket and her blouse, leaving her back exposed as she pulled up her undershirt. She closed her eyes and jumped, only to land on the soft underlay. Not that anyone had expected that to work.

They had to try a different approach. As Rin went back to sit on his bed, Yukio and Shōjo left the room to try and ask Daishi and Hatsuo for help. Short after they left, Shura appeared to keep watch.

Hatsuo still had the climbing gear, which they could use to hoist the girl up towards the ceiling. They would have to go somewhere else to do it, somewhere with a higher ceiling. Yukio decided to lead them to one of the exorcist training areas. Once they got the gear and she was in a securely tightened climbing harness, Hatsuo pulled at the rope, and soon she was in the air.

"I'm the worst angel ever." She groaned as she dangled back and forth.

"What are you talking about?" Daishi questioned upon hearing her statement.

"I'm the angel. But I'm not a good one it seems." She informed him as if it was no big deal, and the man had to lean against a wall to not fall butt first onto the floor.

"You can't be serious. You don't look or act like one. You shouldn't make things up that aren't true."

"Don't joke about that." Hatsuo agreed as he stopped pulling the rope. The girl soon sat on the floor, looking up at them.

"It's true," Yukio replied. "I saw it. Her shadow had wings and she was glowing."

"Come on, that's insane. This is all going to your heads." Daishi claimed as he sat on the floor as well, staring at her. "If this is true, then I guess you won't be living with us for much longer."

"Why?" She crawled towards him.

"Angels are said to come to earth to solve a task, and once it's solved, they'll head home."

"Home?" She now sat mere centimeters away from him, noticing the faint sniffing.

"Guess it's for the best. The sooner the better… What are you even doing with that rope?" He changed the topic as soon as he realized he was getting emotional.

"Trying to train her," Yukio answered. "It was my brothers' idea, which explains why it's not working."

"I'm sorry for breaking into a kiosk, I was under a lot of pressure." Hatsuo suddenly started apologizing for all his crimes and asking for forgiveness, fearing that the higher-ups would look down upon him now that an angel knew about his wrongdoings.

While all this was going on, Lewin was tracking the girl's whereabouts with a Sylph bell he had managed to attach to her the last time he was near her. This way he would know how to get to her, and preferably when she was alone and somewhere dark. If she fell asleep and didn't wake up thanks to being sensitive to darkness, then it would make it that much easier to kidnap her. As far as Lewin could tell, the angel had been in a coma for a long time, only waking up when she was met with an ethereal light. And yet, she looked so very familiar, like a young version of Yuri. This was a fact that he couldn't quite grasp. If she was the angel that was captured hundreds of years ago, then how could she have the body of a former exorcist? Unless…

This wasn't a hundred years old angel. This could very well be one sent to earth to finish what the other one couldn't. And despite her losing her memory, she still felt the urge to fulfill an unknown task. That he knew from hearing their conversation back in the dungeon. But what was that task? And furthermore, she seemed to have gained a task of her own as well, to cure the son of Satan. What made an angel wish to help a demon? Could angels simply be a sort of demon themselves? Lewin had too many unanswered questions, and the urge to get his hands on her only grew stronger. He wanted to question her, examine her, perform tests on her, he wanted to know so much more, but in order to do so, she needed to be at full power.

As they continued to try and make her fly, the girl suddenly asked to be put down, and once she was back on the ground, she turned to face Yukio. "Something's wrong with Rin. You have to go home, Shura is waiting for you."

"What are you talking about? Is this angel talk or something?" Yukio was confused, and worry started to build up as she kept a dead serious glare. "Alright, I'll be going ahead. Stay out of trouble on your way back to the dorm." He advised before running off.

* * *

Once he got back to the dormitory, he sprinted upstairs to reach their room. When he opened the door, he was greeted by Shura and the same doctor that had been there before. "Hey, Yukio…" Rin tiredly greeted, and as Yukio walked closer, he noticed a small machine near Rin's pillow. It was a monitor used to measure blood pressure.

"What's going on?"

"His blood pressure is below normal standards and it's still falling." The doctor informed as Yukio went to sit by the edge of his brother's bed. The wheezing was far worse, and he looked like it hurt to breathe. Rin didn't have much time left, and if he went critical, then he would have to be moved to a special facility. If that happened, then they wouldn't be able to visit and the angel wouldn't get the chance to cure him.


	22. December 22th

While Rin was on bedrest, Yukio could be found at True Cross library, skimming through one page after the other. He had been there before and didn't find anything useful, but perhaps he would this time as he looked for something a little different. So far, the only info he gathered was stuff he already knew. That an angel would be sent to Assiah to fulfill a quest, and once that's done, it would return to where it came from. The books said nothing about angels losing their powers. They knew that the angel in the letters came to cure the bastard child so that he and the young nun could be together, but that was about it. And since both died, the angel never fulfilled its mission. Could that be why she lost her powers?

Perhaps if they got to be together in the afterlife, would that count as a quest completed? If the one in the coffin in the dungeon was the boy, then perhaps the skeleton in the exhibition room was the nun. He might as well be wrong about that, but he did remember Lewin telling him that it was a girl. It would be worth a try, and better than doing nothing.

"I'm fine. I'm not tired at all." Rin lied as the doctor placed a stethoscope on his bare back.

"You have to tell me the truth, or else we can't help you." The doctor replied, moving the instrument from one side to the other.

"But I'm not feeling that bad." He tried again, taking in as deep breaths as he possibly could without coughing.

"It ain't like they're gonna take ya away here and now unless it's necessary. Don't overreact." Shura replied as the doctor moved to the front to listen to his heart.

"We'll have to do some more tests, but we can do that from here. We don't have to go to the hospital for that." Rin frowned upon hearing that. He knew they wouldn't be going to a hospital. If anything, they would be going to some top-secret facility to try and keep him alive. Who knew how painful that would be.

"I'm not going there, I'm staying here to celebrate Christmas." Rin stated as he lay back down. He knew it wasn't his choice to make, but if they took him away, then he surely would put up as much of a fight as he possibly could.

As Yukio ran off towards the dormitory, he had no idea that Lewin had attached a Sylph bell around his neck as well, making sure he could track both him and the girl. If they were planning something, then he had to know their whereabouts. Once Yukio reached the dorm, he headed up to the roof, finding her sitting by the edge. He walked over and sat down beside her.

"I think I know how to get your powers back. You must bring the two young lovers together. If we gathered the bones that are on display in the exhibition room and placed them in the coffin in the Dungeon."

She just shook her head. "That sounds like you made a wild guess. I don't think it'll work, cause I'm the worst angel ever."

"Come on, you can't give up like that. If you do this, then you might get back what was taken from you."

"I couldn't heal Rin. I'm not doing anything right."

"Fine, then sit here and feel sorry for yourself, but I'm going to try it." With that, Yukio got back up and left the roof, then went to his dorm room to get a glimpse of his brother before he would head off to steal from one of the highest-ranked exorcists.

Once he looked inside, he noticed that a few machines had been installed. There was a heart monitor, electrodes placed on his chest and a pulse oximeter on his finger. He was sleeping with Kuro resting near his face and Shura was still there. She would be staying for a while as she was responsible for him, like a guardian when Mephisto wouldn't be.

* * *

Yukio would have to be quick about gathering the bone as he had to get to the dungeon and back again before the water began to rise. No one was there when he arrived at the exhibition room, which would make everything easier. He wasn't at risk of being seen, as he managed to borrow an invisibility cloak from Mephisto yet again. The clown knew everything, at least he seemed to do so as Yukio didn't even have to come up with an excuse this time. If he knew, then why didn't he do anything to help?

He gathered the bones in a jute sack due to a lack of something better, and once he knew he had every piece, he hurried back out and towards the entrance to the catacomb. Yukio knew that Lewin was keeping an eye on him, if anything he did so through the cameras. Hopefully lightning would let him do this without trying to stop him. He made sure to put op the Polaroid by the hatch, just in case. He made sure to keep the bones safe on the way down the slide, and upon reaching the bottom, headed onwards. He knew the way now, and he knew it so well that he could get to the dungeon rather fast. All the ladders made it even quicker.

Once he reached his destination, he opened the coffin and was greeted by the skeleton of the bastard boy from the letters. It had to be him, he had to have been buried near the angel, as it was his father's dungeon. He put down the sack and was just about to place the first bone when he heard a voice behind him. "Want me to help you?"

He jumped forward out of surprise before turning to face them. It was Shōjo. She had managed to get there before Yukio. With a relieved smile, Yukio nodded and together they began to place the bones of the woman by the other skeletons side. Shōjo had been right, this was a wild guess, but it was worth a try.

Once that was done, Yukio reached into his belt pockets and pulled up the letters. He placed them as well, in case that would do something. They then put the lid back on the coffin and stepped away from it. They stood there for a while, yet nothing happened. As they began to doubt this plan, Shōjo suddenly placed a hand by her heart.

"I just saw them, they together in the afterlife." She started to glow, and she smiled.

"It worked, it actually worked!" Yukio cried out, smiling just as brightly as she did.

"I remember now!" She stated as the glow began to fade. She walked up towards Yukio, and as she did, her body grew a bit taller, and her face shifted ever so slightly, making her look older. Once she reached him, she placed her hands on his cheeks. "I remember my name now. I'm Yuri Egin, I'm the one who gave birth to the sons of Satan. To prove my worth and get a place in the afterlife, I was sent back to fulfill a dead angel's quest, only to lose my memory upon entering the catacombs… You two have gotten so big." She moved her hands away to avoid making it weird. "Now that my job is done, I should be able to go back, but I have a quest of my own now. We have to cure your brother."

Yukio was puzzled. He was confused and uncertain, not knowing just how he was supposed to react. The thought of an angel as a concept and as reality had been hard enough for him to grasp, but to see dead people, in this case, his own mother, was on a whole other level entirely. Had he been walking around, solving mysteries with a younger version of the woman who birthed him? He had so many questions, so many things he wanted to ask her, but she refused to tell him anything. She might be willing to answer some of them, but not now. They had other, more important things to do. Healing Rin was what truly mattered. It was always about Rin.

This was all the proof Lewin needed. He had been sure to follow them, Kinzo by his side just like last time. The girl had revealed her true self and regained her power, now was the perfect opportunity to capture her.

They followed not far behind as Yukio and Yuri made their way out. Once they reached the well and Yukio began to climb, Lewin and Kinzo ambushed her as she had yet to enter the well herself. Lewin made her sleep by throwing a bag over her head and held a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming before fainting.

"Nighty night..." Lewin whispered as she turned limp.

It wasn't until Yukio realized that Yuri didn't answer when he called out for her, that he started to get worried. He had been too busy cursing his brother for always being at the center of attention to realize that something was wrong.

He climbed back down and walked away from the well, and as he did, Lewin and Kinzo who had been waiting for him to leave, entered it and began to climb. When Yukio turned back to the well, they were already up. The angel had vanished.


	23. December 23th

Lewin poked at Yuri as she lay on top of a wooden box in his workshop, a sack over her head and hands tied up. He turned off the normal lights and turned it into a dark room, red illuminating the workshop. Lewin took off the sack, and when he knew she wouldn't wake up, started taking samples of her hair and saliva.

While he was busy examining Yuri, Yukio had been looking all over the school as well as the dorm, trying to find her. Hatsuo and Daishi had joined the search, and as they made their way through the basement, the man spoke up.

"Maybe she already left."

"She wouldn't do that, she made a promise." Yukio reasoned as he opened and closed yet another door, finding nothing.

"But we've been looking all over." Hatsuo replied as they rounded a corner.

"I'll take another round down the hall. You should head back to the dorm, in case she shows up." Daishi spoke, and they agreed upon that. Yukio decided to go and investigate Lewin's workshop for the second time. Last time he couldn't see anything unusual, at least not through the keyhole, but this time he would try his luck entering. The angel wouldn't leave without saying anything, not when it… When she promised to help. He couldn't lose her, not when he still had so many questions and a dying brother. He hated to admit it, but even though Rin was the root to a lot of his personal suffering, he couldn't live without him either. His sole purpose throughout the years had been to keep him safe, and he wasn't going to give up on that, not now, not ever. And he needed answers.

* * *

"Can I stay here?" Rin asked as the doctor looked through his papers with a sigh before turning towards Shura.

"The numbers are still dropping a bit. I can't promise anything. A nurse will arrive later to take some further tests. We'll have to wait and see." He answered before heading towards the door. He passed a group of esquires in the hall. They were holding presents and one of them held a bouquet of flowers.

Upon entering, Rin forced himself to sit up and smile. "What are you all doing here?" He asked in between breaths, confused and self-conscious upon having them see him this weak.

"We came to visit you, idiot." Bon answered as he handed him the gift, the others following suit as Shiemi looked for a vase.

"I brought cookies." Izumo reached into her basket and pulled out a plate of baked goodies.

"Are you having drips?" Konekomaru asked upon noticing the IV's installed in his hand. Rin looked at them before answering.

"Yeah. Milrinone for the heart, fluids to keep me from dehydrating and this." he leaned his head forward to show his neck. There, a bruise was forming from getting the shot about an hour ago. "This is to weaken my demonic side from taking over, it slows down the decaying of my body." He now had to get the shot twice a day. "I can't eat too much sugar, so I can't accept the cakes." As he finished the last sentence he started to cough, a sign for him to stop speaking. The others seemed to understand and didn't ask any further questions.

* * *

Yukio stood by a corner, listening in on a conversation between Lewin and someone on the other end of his phone. In the meantime, Kinzo was busy locking the door to the workshop. "Yes, she'll be ready to be shipped by tomorrow, just gotta do a few more tests beforehand. Now stop talking, I'll answer you tomorrow." He harshly ended the call before turning to the guard. "That lock better be sealed well," Lewin warned as he looked it over. "If anyone gets in there, you'll be in serious trouble."

"Then make one yourself." He answered and stepped aside.

"Might as well." With the use of just one word, Lewin made a seal of protection. The fact that it was only one word made it hard to figure out which sacred text had been used. "Now I'll head back up, got a few things to do. Stay down here and patrol the area." With those orders, Lewin headed off.

Yukio hurried off in the opposite direction to get Hatsuo and Daishi. He needed someone to stay guard while he tried to open the lock. He wasn't an Aria, but he did know a lot of verses for those kinds of seals. But until he found the right one to unlock the door, he would be defenseless if someone caught him red-handed.

* * *

Once he gathered the two who hadn't gotten that far due to patrolling guards, he led them towards the workshop. Luckily Kinzo didn't stay by the door, so getting to it wasn't difficult. On the other hand, finding the right verse was what ended up taking a while.

The verse turned out to be one also used on the statue in St. Peter's Basilica, the only difference being that this one wasn't blood bound. As the seal was off and Hatsuo managed to lockpick the actual lock, guards could be heard running towards their direction. Yukio only just made it into the workshop when the guards rounded the corner and got their eyes on the two men standing by the door. Not wanting Yukio to get discovered, the two men fled, the guards following right behind.

They tried to outrun them, but thanks to the guards being faster, they would soon be caught. Having a lack of better ideas, the two grabbed a fire extinguisher each and turned to face them. It only managed to distract them for a short while, as the guards forced themselves through. In the end, the two men were captured.

In the meantime, Yukio was trying to shine some light on Yuri to wake her up. He could try and carry her, but since she wasn't a child anymore, she would be heavier. This meant that if a guard saw them in the hall, it would be easier to capture them.

"Yuri? Wake up! We have to get you out of here!" He tried slapping her cheeks and shook her, and once she started to move, he cut off the rope tightened around her wrists.

"Yukio..?" She drowsily answered, looking up with eyes barely open. Before they got a chance to escape, Lewin arrived with Kinzo right behind. Lewin grabbed Yukio by the arm, forcing him to follow him out.

"You're a smart kid I'll give you that. You found out quicker than I thought you would." He then threw him at Kinzo. "Get him out of the basement, I have an angel to tie back down."

* * *

Kinzo was overjoyed about catching the thieves, and once Yukio had been forced out of the basement, he called Shura, asking her to come immediately. The woman was by the twin's dorm when she got the call and had to leave the esquires alone with Rin to go there. Once she arrived, she recognized one of them. She had seen him before. It was the father to that Yuri look-alike she had a talk with some days ago. Was he a thief? Sure, he had seemed strange, but a thief? Possibly homeless?

"You? Where's ya daughter?" That was the first thing that came to mind, and rightfully so. Had she been homeless as well?

"You wouldn't believe me, but Lewin, one I suppose you know, kidnapped her. She's in his workshop." Daishi tried to explain but was cut off.

"What kinda bullshit is that, who do ya think I am, an idiot? Lemme try again. Where is she?"

"He's telling the truth!" Hatsuo cut in but to no avail.

"I'm sure they'll tell once they reach the prison. Then they can celebrate Christmas stuck in jail." Kinzo was about to reach for Daishi, but Shura stopped him.

"No, let's not get the police involved just yet." She sat down beside Daishi and observed him closely. "That girl, she hangs out with Yukio. They're not getting in trouble, are they?"

"Only if you don't trust us. Go and confront Lewin, find the girl and you'll know we're telling the truth."

Shura glared at him as she stood back up. "You two, you're leaving, and you aren't coming back. This is a restricted area, not a playground for hobos."

* * *

Kinzo hurried back to the workshop to warn Lewin, but when he entered, the man in question was placing the girl inside a wooden box. "There you are! Hurry up and close the door before someone sees this."

Kinzo didn't know what to think. This wasn't right, they couldn't treat another being this way, and especially not an angel. She was innocent, and whatever Lightning was planning couldn't be pleasant.

"Where are you planning on taking her?"

"To a science facility specialized in dealing with demonic beings. Why? Getting cold feet?"

Kinzo rubbed at his face, feeling conflicted. He couldn't be a part of this. "You can't treat someone this way. I'm quitting, I don't want to be a part of this. You're crazy Lewin." With that, he left and headed off to tell Shura everything.

Once he got there, Shura wasn't looking too pleased. "Shura! The hobos were right, Lewin kidnapped the girl and-"

"And what? Lewin just called and told me you've been sabotaging his research. This ain't the first time there's been problems with you. Hand over ya things, you're fired."

* * *

"I'm telling you the truth. A woman's been kidnapped by Lewin, she's held captured in the basement of True Cross." Yukio tried to explain the situation to his students as he met them by his dorm. "It might sound absurd, but it's a fact."

"I know Lewin has some questionable methods but how would he even keep something like this a secret." Bon tried to reason before Izumo joined.

"We all deal with stress our own way, but don't you think that lying to us is a bit much? We understand that you're upset about your brother, but running around, making up stories to try and find a miracle? That's just insane. You need help Yukio, maybe you should go and talk to someone about this."

"It's not crazy! I'm telling you, he's holding her captured! He's going to send her off to a science facility as if she was an object!"

No matter how he tried to explain it, none of them would believe his words. They thought he had gone crazy, that he had created some parallel world. With no one by his side, he would have to rescue Yuri on his own. Yukio didn't even know whether Hatsuo and Daishi had been caught and sent of to jail. If not, then there might still be a chance of support.


	24. December 24th

Yukio sat down on the edge of his brother's bed. Rin's eyes had a hard time focusing, making it seem like he was looking past you, and they were puffy. When Yukio asked him how he was feeling, he simply said fine, even though that clearly wasn't the case. He had never seen his brother this ill, and Yukio realized that he might only have a few hours left before he would go critical. So far, they had avoided him being sent off to the hospital, or rather, True Cross' special facility, but the hospital still had a better ring to it. Time was running out, and he might not make it past Christmas morning.

"I'm sorry Rin." Yukio apologized as he held his brother's hand.

"Don't be. It's okay." Rin tightened his grip As Yukio started to feel teary-eyed, his phone started ringing, and Rin let go of his hand to let him answer it.

"Hello? Kinzo? You what? Okay, I'll see you in a minute!" Yukio ended the call and turned to his brother. "Kinzo knows where the girl is." He had yet to tell his brother who she was, but he wouldn't risk anything as long as he was this weak. He couldn't risk getting his pulse up. "I'll be back soon. If I'm not back by an hour, then you have to call True Cross' special unit, alright?"

Rin nodded and watched as Yukio headed off.

* * *

Yukio met up with Kinzo in one of the many halls of True Cross Academy. Once they were face to face, Kinzo started to explain the whole thing. Lewin was showing her off to some men down at the workshop at the moment. They would drive off with her in a wooden box with a couple other findings from the exhibition. They would have to find a way to stop them.

"He promised that the girl would go to a better place. I don't know what I was thinking." Kinzo explained as they ran down to the basement.

"He cheated me as well Kinzo… Are you sure they're in there?"

"I saw them go in there, so yes, I'm sure."

When they reached the door, Yukio looked in through the keyhole. It was completely dark in there... and quiet. When he tried to open the door, it turned out not to be locked. This was strange, and even though it felt like a trap, they had no choice but to try and enter. It was either that or doing nothing, and they surely couldn't just stand there forever. They might as well have been too late.

Once they got inside, both were suddenly caught from behind, Lewin holding onto Yukio.

"Can't believe how easy you are, I thought I would have gotten some more resistance." He found a pressure point by Yukio's jaw, and once he went limp, Lewin reached into Yukio's pocket and took his phone. As soon as both were down for the count, Lewin and the other men headed off with the wooden box. Yukio knew something like this would happen, and despite knowing and trying to prepare himself, he just wasn't fast enough compared to Lightning. Once they could move again and reached the door, it had been locked from the other side. Even the vent had been locked down. They were trapped.

* * *

Rin was getting nervous. Yukio hadn't gotten back yet, and it was way past an hour. He hadn't called either, and he didn't answer his messages. He knew he was supposed to call the special unit, but that would only do so much, and they might not believe him either. He had sent Shura off to the kitchen to make some food. While she was gone, he would have just enough time to pull out the IVs, take off the heart monitor, get the key to enter True Cross cram school, and get out before Shura heard the alarms.

He started by taking out the IV's in his hands, then the electrodes on his chest, and lastly the nasal tube that gave him much needed oxygen. Even though he started to feel dizzy the moment he stood up, he still forced himself to move. He knew they would be somewhere in the basement, he just had to get there before his time ran out. He somehow managed to get out of the dorm without Shura noticing and headed off towards True Cross. Rin had made sure to put on shoes and a jacket before leaving as it was still snowing. Once he got close enough, he used his key on a random door and ended up in the hall of the school.

Rin could barely breathe, and his hands had gone purple. He was decaying fast without the drugs, and he could feel it at the tip of his ears as well. He had to lean against the wall, every step getting heavier and his breath shallower.

When he reached the basement, he could barely stand, and he felt like he was drowning. He couldn't breathe, he could barely even swallow his own spit, and his tail hung lifelessly behind him as he tried to find his way through the fog his eyes created. He still had to keep to the wall to avoid falling. It was getting darker the further he got, and he was about to sit down on the cold ground when he heard someone yelling.

"Yukio..?"

* * *

Yukio and Kinzo, in their search for a way out, found another box in there filled with all sorts of treasures. It looked almost identical to the one Yuri had been forced into. Both went quiet when they heard footsteps and hurried over to the door.

"Hey! Let us out of here!" Yukio yelled, and surprisingly got an answer. It was weak, but it was there.

"Rin? Is that you? We're in here!" Yukio called out, and once he heard his brother fall into the door, he took a step back. "Rin! Are you okay?!"

He didn't get an answer, but he could hear his brother clawing at the door as if he tried to force himself to keep standing. "I can't open it…" Rin wheezed as the handle was pulled down a couple of times.

"There's a lock!" Kinzo informed, and soon enough, they could hear him reach for it. With how weak he was, the chance of him being able to open it by force was small, but Rin had gotten this far and wasn't about to give up. Once he got to it, he used both hands, and with all the energy he had left, he tore the lock off. As soon as he had the broken lock in his hand, he slid down against the wall and sat, trying to stop the dizzy spell. When Yukio and Kinzo got out, they found Rin on the ground not breathing. His hands and lips had gone completely purple, and his heart was barely beating. His hands were cold, yet his face was scalding.

"I'll get him back to the dorm! You go and find the angel!" Kinzo ordered as he lifted him and hurried off. Every second counted.

* * *

Lewin managed to get past security with the box, using excuses like him being a high ranked exorcist, and the objects being sensitive to light. While Lewin was getting ready to head off, Yukio had managed to find both Hatsuo and Daishi, and despite Daishi being drunk, they agreed to help Yukio get Yuri back. Once they reached the parking lot, Kinzo was back. He had made it to the dorm just in time and was quick to hand Rin over to Shura without much of an explanation. All this had taken around twenty minutes, which just might be too long. But Yukio knew he couldn't do this by himself, he wouldn't be able to do a proper job on his own, so he _had_ to have them by his side.

The two men headed right into the parking lot and ran right up to the truck Lewin was about to put the box in. Daishi went for Lewin and Hatsuo was right behind, forcing him away from the box for a few seconds which was just about enough for Yukio and Kinzo to steal the box using a hand truck and run off to the elevator. As they rode it down, Lewin went for the stairs. It was dark out, so opening the box wouldn't help.

Once Lewin reached them, Kinzo appeared to have fallen into an open sewer hole, and Yukio was holding onto him. The box wasn't far from where they were standing.

"Help us!" Yukio yelled out, but Lewin just smiled as he went for the box. "What would I gain from helping you?"

"It's dangerous!" Yukio reasoned, but Lightning ignored it as he headed off with the box.

"Good luck, hope you won't die."

Once Lewin was out of sight, Yukio smiled and helped Kinzo up from the hole. They then turned to another box that they hid away. "I can't believe he bought that. Now let's get her out of there."

* * *

Lewin had fallen into the trap without even realizing it. Once he did, it was too late. It was Daishi and Hatsuo who was driving, and since he was in the back of the truck, he didn't realize where he was until a group of special unit exorcists opened the back door. Being as high ranked as he was, Lewin wasn't arrested for being in possession of treasures, but he was reprimanded and forced to tell the Vatican about his misadventures. One thing was for sure: he wasn't in possession of the angel anymore.


	25. December 25th

They were back at the dorm by midnight, Yuri barely conscious due to the lack of light, but the moonlight and steet lamps were just enough for her to stay awake. An ambulance was parked by the entrance, and one of the drivers was leaning against it, waiting. Yukio told Hatsuo to follow him while telling Daishi to get Yuri onto the roof. Yukio jumped steps as he flew up the stairs, trying to be as fast as possible.

"Gotta wait for Yukio." Rin wheezed as he was put on a stretcher and covered by a blanket, body completely limp.

"He'll be here soon, don't worry." Shura answered as she tried to call him for the second time. Why wasn't he picking up? What could be more important than this? She was mildly surprised when they met him in the hall near the stairs trying to catch his breath.

"Wait! Can I have just, two minutes to talk with him under two eyes?"

"We're on the way to the hospital, small talk can wait."

"No, this is important, it can't wait. I promise it'll be quick."

They ended up agreeing, but it would be nothing more than a minute. Both Shura and the EMT workers headed down a few steps and turned their backs to give them a bit of privacy. Shura had a hard time understanding how this could be more important than getting the kid to the facility as fast as possible. It wasn't until they heard rustling fabric, the beep of a flatline soon followed by footsteps they realized that Yukio was running off with Rin in his arms, one of the men following right behind. He pushed the stretcher at Shura, successfully hitting her in the stomach which slowed her down a bit.

"He's sick! Let him go!" What the hell were they doing?! Had they gone completely mad? Shura followed them all the way to the roof, the EMT following not far behind. It was freezing outside, and as they hurried over to where Yuri was standing, Daishi made sure to block the door. It wouldn't keep them from getting out there, but it would give them a bit of much needed time.

Yukio put Rin down and Hatsuo covered up his legs with his jacket while Yukio opened his brother's shirt. Rin looked at Yuri, surprised to see her all grown up, yet didn't say anything. He was too ill to think much of it. Yuri reached out a hand towards Rin's chest, and light emerged from her palm. Just as she was about to start, the door burst open and Shura came running towards them. That didn't stop Yuri as she continued, and once Shura saw the light and the woman in question, she stopped and stared. The light got brighter when she placed a hand by his irregularly beating heart, and Rin's eyes turned to look at the hand as it moved away. Once it was done, Rin sat up. Color was already returning to his face, and the wheezing stopped. Rin looked around, smiling as if a heavy burden just got lifted from his shoulders.

"I don't feel tired anymore," Rin stated as Shura walked over and fell to her knees in awe. What just happened? Was this some kind of demonic ability she didn't know about? She carefully poked Rin's cheek, making sure she wasn't just seeing things. "I feel fine!"

Yukio found himself smiling as well, but when he turned to look at Yuri, she was looking at the sky. She was slowly moving away from them. Yukio slowly followed her. "Are you leaving already?"

"Can you hear it? It's my melody. It's calling for me." She smiled. "I'm going home. The others are waiting for me on the other side. It's where I belong."

Yukio grabbed her by the wrist and tried to get eye contact. "You can't go yet! You promised to tell me everything you know! And what about Rin? You haven't talked to him either!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you what you wish to know. It's not my purpose, and it's not yet time for you to know. Rin knows this, I could feel it, and he's accepted it. You will have to accept it as well." Yukio let go of her wrist and watched as she moved to stand by the edge of the roof. She turned to send one last smile. "Take good care of each other. I'll tell the others that you're both well." She then spread her large, feathery wings, and with a bright, blinding light and wind hitting their faces, she disappeared.

* * *

Yukio was still sitting on the roof, glaring at the sky when the sun rose. It was hard to believe that the girl who appeared so suddenly, could be gone so soon. They managed to save Rin, it had been their purpose from the start, and yet he felt like he lost. She was the one person who could answer his questions, she was the one person other than Shiro that he wanted clear answers from, and yet she refused to give him any. The sky had turned pink with a pretty mix of purple and blue, and he looked at his hand, glitter dazzling in the weak rays of sunlight. He remembered how his hand had been covered in the same kind of glitter the first time he shook her hand. Yukio was thrown out of his melancholic thoughts when Rin sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

* * *

Rin still had to go through a few tests, but every single one of them came out normal. His blood pressure, his heartbeat, his breathing, even his skin was healing up as fast as it used to. Nothing was wrong with him, he was cured. It was a miracle like no other. Shura still couldn't believe it, and neither could the other esquires when they heard what happened. Yukio had been right, and they had shot him down immediately, blaming stress instead of giving him a chance to prove that what he was telling was nothing but the truth.

Hatsuo and Daishi weren't punished either, instead, they were rewarded for all their help. They got permission to stay in True Cross' basement until the end of December, then once the month was over, they would start training to become teachers with a specialty in angels. Due to their age, they would have to study at another branch, which they didn't mind. This was a chance for a new beginning, one away from the streets.

* * *

On that very morning, December 25th, they all celebrated Christmas in the basement. A group of homeless people had arrived as soon as they heard that the party wasn't canceled, and while Rin looked around with the other esquires, Yukio found himself sitting by the stolen Christmas decorations. They had found them the exact same place they left them, and it didn't take long to decorate the place.

He turned his attention to the tree as people started gathering around it. It would be their first Christmas without Shiro, but at least Yukio still had one family member left to celebrate with.


End file.
